Dd-79. 119 Ministries ERRORS of INTERPRETATION ! Part 1. DOWNLOAD to SAVE as a PDF Doc to read OFFLINE.
Dd-79. 119 MINISTRIES ERRORS of INTERPRETATION! Part 1
Part 1 of the 119 Ministries errors in their INTERPRETATION of the WORD of GOD
This is a follow-up study to the in-depth Bible study called “IS THE HEBREW ROOTS MOVEMENT BIBLICAL?”. Please understand that I am writing this study NOT to point out any specific ministry, but rather to point out the ERRORS of FALSE teachers no matter what denomination or ministry it is that are teaching these incorrect interpretations from the word of God. I am doing these studies in God's word in order to help those who are being DECEIVED by these false teachings to learn HOW to search the word of Almighty God for THEMSELVES in order to see if what they are being taught is, in fact, the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. I did, however, choose to use this particular website of 119 Ministries. For you see, I have personally attended one of their home Bible studies by the request of a dear brother and sister in the Lord, who have been drawn away from the TRUE GOSPEL of Jesus Christ by the 119 Ministries. The “motto” is TEST EVERYTHING. But yet they themselves TEST NOTHING in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Now there are many things about the 119 Ministries that make them APPEAR to be teaching sound doctrine, but what they teach is NOT based upon the word of God when the verses of Scriptures they use are correctly interpreted in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Perhaps the number one thing that is DECEIVING them and other Christians is that in many of their teachings they encourage Christians to TEST EVERYTHING. To test what we have been taught and what we are being taught is Biblical. And it is based on Acts 17:11 to search the word of God daily to see if we are being taught the truth. I as well teach my readers to search the word of God to make absolutely sure that they are being taught the truth of the WHOLE word of God. But what is DECEIVING is that they do NOT TRULY test ANYTHING. Let me explain what I mean by this. When Christians read and study ONLY their OWN interpretations of the Scriptures, then they are NOT TRULY testing ANYTHING in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. All they are doing is trying to reassure themselves that WHAT they are teaching agrees with their OWN personal interpretation of the Scriptures that they have handpicked while AVOIDING other verses of Scripture. And by avoiding other verses of Scripture, I mean that they try to explain them away rather than accepting them for what they are TRULY saying in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Another thing that the 119 Ministries does that makes them seem to be following the Bible is that they offer all their teachings for free at no charge. And this, to me, is again Biblical. In other words, I personally believe that it is wrong to charge for the teaching and preaching of God's word. Now, they do, however, ask for donations, which to ME, if God is truly leading any Ministry, then God Himself will lead people to give to help support the ministry. Just my own personal opinion. I also would like to say again, as I have in many of my other studies, that I personally do not believe that those who teach FALSE doctrines do so willfully and KNOWINGLY. But rather, I believe that they themselves have been DECEIVED by the enemy, Satan, to teach what they themselves SINCERELY and truly believe to be the TRUTH. As I said a moment ago, I personally know a young family who has been DECEIVED by their FALSE teachings. It is my prayer that their eyes of understanding be opened to the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God so that they will come out from among this false teaching and be restored to the true GOSPEL of Jesus Christ. I ask my readers to pray for not only this family, but also to pray for all the other families and individuals that have been deceived by the false teachings of the 119 ministry and the Hebrew Roots Movement. For those of you who have read the first study in this three part series of studies, I gave the link to this 119 Ministry website in the study called Dd-78. Is the HEBREW ROOTS Movement BIBLICAL? So again, I strongly implore my readers to do a search by typing in 119 Ministries, rather than just clicking on the link so that you can see personally for yourself all the other websites that are speaking out AGAINST the FALSE teachings of the 119 Ministries. I do not necessarily endorse these other websites on all their other points of doctrine, but I do agree that they are correct in their speaking out against the Hebrew Roots Movement and the 119 Ministries. I will first post a few links here in this study to some of these other websites so that you may view the points that these other websites bring out against the FALSE teaching of the Hebrew Roots Movement and the 119 Ministries. And then, after you read the brief introductions to the other websites, I will begin my own teaching on this subject of exposing the errors of interpretation made by the 119 Ministries and show WHY they are in ERROR. This first link gives a REBUTTAL to a defense given by the 119 Ministries. At times, a defense given to any false teaching seems to be Biblical until it is explained in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of God.
This next link below also has quite a few studies showing the errors of the 119 Ministries and the Hebrew Roots Movement along with explaining the differences between a true natural born Jew who has accepted Jesus as their Messiah and those who CLAIM to be Messianic Jews. However, I do NOT agree with the teachings on this website related to Once Saved Always Saved. In other words, some of the teachings on this site, while teaching AGAINST the legalism of the 119 ministries, go to the other EXTREME on the teaching of GRACE ALONE, in that, once you accept Jesus as your savior then you can never lose your salvation no matter what. So, do not be deceived to go from one extreme to the other when reading from this or any other website. I myself do NOT teach grace ALONE, nor the false once saved always saved doctrine:
How I Became Aware of the Hebrew Roots Movement | Joyfully Growing in Grace
And this next link deals primarily with Matthew 5:17,18 and also with the food laws of the Old Testament. This one passage of Scripture seems to be the stumbling block for those who are being DECEIVED by the 119 Ministries and the Hebrew Roots Movement. It is true that Jesus did not come to COMPLETELY destroy or TOTALLY abolish the LAW, however there where portions of the law that were indeed ABOLISHED and NAILED to the cross of Jesus. Perhaps a better way to say this is to say that Jesus CHANGED the law or more precisely taught us a new WAY to KEEP the law. For example, Jesus came to be the atonement for the sin of the world; THEREFORE every feast, ritual or ceremony that was given as the LAW of God in the Old Testament that has to do with sacrifice for sins has indeed been ABOLISHED or CHANGED. In others words, we as Christians still KEEP the law offering a sacrifice for sin, BUT the WAY that we KEEP this law is our FAITH in Jesus as BEING our sacrifice and therefore we no longer keep the law in the WAY of offering animal sacrifices. Another example is that we still yet KEEP the law of being CIRCUMCISED. HOWEVER, the WAY in which we keep the law of circumcision has CHANGED to being circumcised in our HEART rather than in our FLESH. We will take a closer look at this truth in God's word as we continue this study.
http://graceinthetriad.blogspot.com/2011/07/importance-of-new-covenant-theology.html
Also, for those of you who have NOT read the study Dd-78. Is the HEBREW ROOTS Movement BIBLICAL, then I strongly encourage you to read it first to give you a strong Biblical foundation that clearly and plainly teaches us that Jesus came to put into FORCE a NEW COVENANT or a NEW TESTAMENT. There are many things that Jesus FULFILLED under the Old Covenant in order to ABOLISH those many things that he fulfilled. And IF a Christian tries to KEEP what Jesus ABOLISHED on the cross, then they are actually DISPLEASING God and His Son Jesus as opposed to pleasing God. In other words, the 119 Ministries argue that they keep the Law of Moses to PLEASE God or to SHOW their faith. To say this another way, they do not keep the Law of Moses to be saved, but rather, they argue that they keep the Law of Moses to PLEASE God by showing their obedience to obey the OLD Covenant. But in truth, God no longer ACCEPTS the OLD Covenant. And thus, it is a SIN to try to keep what Jesus ABOLISHED on the cross! Every Christian agrees that it would be a SIN to have FAITH in Jesus as the ONE SACRIFICE for sin and ALSO obey the OLD Covenant to offer animal sacrifices for their sins. That would NOT be PLEASING to God or to His Son Jesus. But yet all seventh DAY of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians are actually DISPLEASING God by their trying to keep the LAW of Moses. How can they not see that the Law of Moses was ADDED only until Christ came? How can that not see that Almighty God Himself made the First Covenant OLD and that He no longer ACCEPTS the Old Covenant or the OLD Testament. Now, this does not mean that it is no longer needed to read and study the Old Testament. For you see, the New Testament is the fulfillment of many of the prophecies in the Old Testament. There are many passages of Scripture that teach us that IF the FIRST Covenant, or the OLD Testament, could have saved us, then there would have been NO NEED for Jesus to put into FORCE the NEW and BETTER COVENANT. I know this is going to be a rather long in-depth study, but it always takes the CONTEXT of the verses in question to CORRECTLY interpret the Scripture. And then, we must always compare Scripture with Scripture to make it perfectly CLEAR that EVERY verse of Scripture AGREES with the interpretation that we conclude. So then, if the verses of Scripture that are used to TRY and teach that Christians must keep ALL the Law of Moses contained in ordinances under the OLD COVENANT can be clearly shown that those verses of Scripture have been twisted to mean something that they truly do NOT mean. Then that will prove that the 119 Ministries and the Hebrew Roots Movement are wrongly teaching ANOTHER gospel that is NOT the gospel that the Apostle Paul teaches. It will prove that all seventh DAY of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians are NOT teaching the TRUTH of the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ. So please, I implore you to take the time to read the whole study for I know the Lord will bless you richly as you seek to know the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. And keep in mind that it is much easier to MAKE a MESS than it is to CLEAN UP a mess that has been made of God's word by false teachers. Again, I caution you to be very thorough when reading or listening to any teaching from the 119 Ministries. For you see. they have MIXED a little truth in with their teaching. And thus, on the SURFACE, they may SEEM to be Biblical in what they are teaching. But I assure you that they have gone too far to the extreme when it comes to obeying the commandments of Almighty God by imposing upon believers to keep the whole Law of Moses contained in some 613 carnal ordinances. Christians are under the NEW COVENANT ONLY! And thus, we are to keep THESE LEAST commandments, which are the TWO commandments of Jesus to LOVE God and LOVE our neighbors as ourselves. And by walking in LOVE we KEEP ALL of the MORAL laws of God. And according to Matthew 22:37-40, Galatians 5:14, Romans 13:8-10, and James 2:8-11, we FULFILL all of the law of God that He Himself requires of us to receive eternal life in the world to come. So speak YOU and DO as we do under the Law of LIBERTY, for it will be by the Law of LIBERTY that we shall be JUDGED, according to James 2:12. And according to the Apostle Peter in Acts 2:10, all seventh DAY of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians are TEMPTING Almighty God Himself by subverting Christians to keep the Law of Moses which none of the Apostles or their fathers before them wear able to BEAR.
Please read Acts 15:10,24,
“10. Now, therefore, why TEMPT you God, to put a YOKE upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to BEAR?... …24. Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, You must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:”
Now, the 119 Ministries and the Hebrew Roots Movement try to EXPLAIN away Acts 15:10,24 by TWISTING the God INTENDED meaning of these verses of Scripture so that they can continue to be teachers of the Law of Moses. In other words, they state in some of their teachings that they do not keep the law of God as a matter of salvation, but rather, they CLAIM to keep the Law of Moses to be more PLEASING to God. But if you really listen CLOSELY to what they are ACTUALLY teaching, then you will see that keeping the whole law of God for fear that they would be committing SIN if they did not keep the Law of Moses. Listen CLOSELY to what they SAY. They begin bay saying, we all agree that it is a SIN to murder. We all agree that it is a SIN to steal. We all agree that it is a SIN to commit adultery. So WHY do some Christians NOT keep the FOURTH commandment when they know full well that it is a SIN if they break any of the OTHER TEN Commandments. So to THEM it is indeed a SIN if they do not OBEY the fourth commandment to REST on the SEVENTH DAY of every week as it is written in the fourth commandment. They argue that it is not simply a SUGGESTION to keep the other NINE commandments, it is a COMMANDMENT! So why do some Christians treat the fourth commandment as if it is alright NOT to OBEY? What they FAIL to see and understand is that under the NEW COVENANT, we keep the SPIRIT of the law and NOT the LETTER of the law, according to Romans 7:6.
Please read Romans 7:6.
“But NOW we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in the NEWNESS of SPIRIT, and NOT in the oldness of the LETTER.”
This means that the LETTER of the law written in ORDINANCES is a SHADOW pointing to the TRUE meaning for WHY the law was given to the children of Israel in the first place. Now, the motto of the 119 Ministries is to TEST EVERYTHING, but yet they themselves do not TRULY test ANYTHING. Rather, they read INTO the verses that expose the ERROR of what they teach what they NEED these verses to say in order that they can continue to be teachers of the Law of Moses. They admit that no one can learn all the law overnight and they teach that over time, as one studies God's law, then they will learn to eventually keep ALL of the Law of Moses. But what they FAIL to teach their followers is that Jesus ABOLISHED the law of commandments contained in ordinances, according to Ephesians 2:8-15, and Colossians 2+3-23. And rather than TRULY testing these passages of Scripture in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God, they try to explain them away. The Apostle Paul hit the nail on the head so to speak when he said that they DESIRE to be teachers of the LAW. That is their GOAL, they desire to be teachers of the Law to teach Christians that they must keep ALL the LAW of Moses written in the TORAH. Let me explain what I mean by these Hebrew Roots Movement groups going TOO FAR to the EXTREME. First of all, I have to agree that some Christians in the mainstream modern churches have gone to the OTHER extreme in their teaching of salvation by GRACE ALONE. For you see, those Grace Alone Christians IGNORE the many warnings in the New Testament that if we do NOT KEEP the commandments of God, then we will NOT receive eternal life in the world to come. I ALSO have many teachings on this subject of discerning between GRACE and the LAW that stays in the middle of the road bringing a BALANCE in the teaching of GRACE and the teaching of keeping the commandments of God. In other words, we MUST keep all of the MORAL laws of God to overcome sin in order to obtain eternal life in the world to come. For you see, if a Christian lives in a lifestyle of sin and they should die while living in that lifestyle of sin, then they will LOSE their salvation. Please read the study called F-1. CAN A CHRISTIAN LOSE THEIR SALVATION? So YES, I believe the WHOLE word of God clearly teaches us that we must be OBEDIENT children of God to obey the MORAL commandments of God in order to be accounted worthy to receive eternal life in the world to come. For you see, in order to have the right to eat of the tree of life when Jesus returns we must obey his commandments, according to Revelation 20:14,15. But that passage of Scripture is NOT referring to the commandments contained in ORDINANCES written in the Old Testament under the OLD Covenant. So to try to argue that the word “commandments” written in the New Testament ALWAYS means the Law of Moses and the TEN Commandments is TWISTING the Scripture to mean what they NEED these verses of Scripture to say. That is another ERROR of interpretation made by all seventh DAY of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians. They read INTO the verses of Scripture what they NEED them to say. For you see, these verses CLEARLY prove they are in ERROR in what they teach. Therefore, they choose to try to explain away these verses of Scripture as opposed to TRULY TESTING EVERYTHING as they CLAIM they do. But in truth, they twist the New Testament Scripture to mean to THEM what they need to say in order to continue to be teachers of the Law of Moses. Please understand that even the keeping of the MORAL commandments is NOT what JUSTIFIES us and FREES us from the bondage of sin. Justification to be RECONCILED to God can only be obtained through FAITH in Jesus, the Son of the living God. However, we MUST obey all the MORAL commandments of God lest we SIN. For you see, the wages of SIN is death. So then, the keeping of all the MORAL laws is indeed a matter of salvation to receive eternal life in the world to come. More on this further on in this study. But for now, yes, I am aware of the extreme teaching on grace ALONE that has deceived some Christians into believing that they can never lose their salvation, no matter what. HOWEVER, I do NOT believe that that Bible ITSELF teaches us as Christians that we are required by Almighty God to keep the entire LAW of Moses contained in ORDINANCES as the 119 Ministries and the Hebrew Roots Movement FALSELY teach. For IF this teaching were TRUE, then one must keep EVERY JOT and TITTLE to the STRICT LETTER of the LAW in order to NOT lose their salvation and obtain eternal life in the world to come. For you see, you cannot pick and choose which law and ordinance you want to keep and ignore the rest. Transgression of the law is SIN. In other words, the 119 Ministry teaches that they do not keep the Sabbath day as the Law of Moses commands it to be kept, then a Christian is sinning. But then they contradict themselves by arguing that they do not keep the weekly Sabbath DAY of rest as a matter of their salvation. Rather, they REST on the seventh DAY out of honor or out of obedience to God to SHOW their faith in Jesus by obeying his commandments. Can you not see how they CLAIM that it is NOT as a matter of salvation or receiving eternal life in the world to come, but CONTRADICT themselves by saying that it is a SIN to break any of the OTHER nine commandments. And it is indeed a SIN to break in of the six MORAL commandments listed in the TEN Commandments. But the third and fourth commandments are NOT MORAL commandments that affect other people if one breaks any of those six moral commandments. And thus, four of the TEN Commandments are carnal services to God contained in ORDINANCES. In Hebrews 8:5 we can see how the things commanded under the first covenant were EXAMPLES and SHADOWS of heavenly things. Then the context continues in Hebrew 9:1 which teaches us in simplicity that the first covenant had ORDINANCES of DIVINE SERVICE. In other words, ceremonial services to God as opposed to MORAL services to our fellow MAN. And it was those ORDINANCES contained in the CEREMONIAL laws of services to the DIVINE that Jesus FULFILLED on the cross in order to ABOLISH the LAW that was ADDED until Christ came. So then, the TRUTH of the matter is that Jesus and his disciples taught us that we, as believers in Jesus Christ, FULFILL or KEEP ALL the LAW that we are commanded to keep under the NEW Covenant, written in the New Testament, when we walk in LOVE, one toward another. This shows us that all the MORAL law is being KEPT when we walk in LOVE toward one another. And if we DISOBEY one of the MORAL laws, then it is a SIN. And the wages of sin is death unless we repent and confess our sins. To say this another way, if a Christian was to fall into the sin of adultery and they would die while living in an adulterous relationship, then they would LOSE their salvation. But if they repent and confess their sin, then God will cleanse them once again from all their unrighteousness. I always try to teach my readers to simply obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit just ONE step at a time. For you see, our Christian walk with the Lord is likened or compared to a young child growing up. We as loving parents do not ask or put on our children any more than we know they are capable of accomplishing. When a child first begins to walk we do not try to make the child run or carry something that we know that they are not capable of carrying. And if they stumble and fall we are there to help them get back up. Then, when they have mastered walking, we move on to another STEP. This is how The Holy Spirit leads us as well, just ONE step at a time. So then, simply OBEY the leading of the Holy Spirit to walk in LOVE one toward another, to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And by walking in LOVE you FULFILL all of the law that God REQUIRES in order for you to receive eternal life in the world to come. The Holy Spirit will always convict a true born-again Christian when they sin. And the Holy Spirit will only teach us to obey the NEW COVENANT. The Bible ITSELF clearly teaches us that the PERSUASION from those to keep the Law of Moses does NOT come from God.
Please read Galatians 5:6-10.
“For in Jesus Christ (Or we who are under the NEW COVENANT by FAITH in Jesus Christ) neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision; but FAITH which works by LOVE. (Or by FAITH in Jesus to walk in LOVE we fulfill ALL of the law of God AND all of the ceremonial law as well. For you see, we ARE keeping the LAW of CIRCUMCISION by our FAITH in Jesus are our TRUE circumcision of our heart to cut away the sins of the flesh, according to Colossians 2:11) 7. You did run well; who did HINDER you that you should NOT obey the TRUTH? (In other words, who is hindering your faith in the TRUTH that no such commandment is given by the church of Jesus to KEEP the Law of Moses) 8. THIS PERSUASION (To be circumcised in the flesh to KEEP the Law of Moses) comes NOT from Him that calls you. 9. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10. I have confidence in you through the Lord, that you will be none otherwise minded: (To keep the Law of Moses for ANY reason) but he that TROUBLES you shall bear his JUDGMENT, whosoever he be.”
So then we cannot judge truth based on being convicted by our own personal conviction that we write upon our OWN conscience. For example, I was taught FALSE doctrine in the Roman Catholic Church that it was a mortal sin if I missed going to church on SUNDAY which is NOT taught in the Bible itself but yet I was convicted of sinning if I missed going to church on Sunday. So then, anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear knows beyond any shadow of a doubt that being convicted for disobeying FALSE teaching is NOT from the Holy Spirit. However, it is the Holy Spirit convicting us when we disobey any moral laws. And no moral law will be broken IF we walk in LOVE toward one another. Please read Matthew 7:12, which teaches us that the heart of the whole LAW and the PROPHETS is to teach us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us.
Matthew 7:12.
“Therefore, all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them: FOR (Or because) THIS is the law AND the prophets.”
The Bible teaches us to walk in LOVE one toward another. Jesus said that ALL the LAW and the PROPHETS hang on TWO commandments. And thus, all the moral law of God is fulfilled or being kept when we walk in LOVE. And all the PROPHETS and ceremonial law are fulfilled in Jesus. This will become crystal clear by the end of this study in God’s word when one truly TESTS EVERYTHING, as in, every verse of SCRIPTURE being left in its context.
Please read Matthew 22:37-40.
“Jesus said unto him, You shall LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38. This is the first and great commandment. (In other words, this is the FIRST of the TWO commandments and ONLY TWO commandments under the NEW COVENANT) 39. And the second is like unto it, You shall LOVE your neighbor as yourself. 40. On these TWO commandments hang ALL the LAW and the PROPHETS.”
Please notice that Jesus is teaching us TWO things. Jesus is saying that ALL of the Law of Moses is FULFILLED by obeying THESE LEAST commandments of only TWO commandments. And Jesus is ALSO teaching us that he FULFILL the PROPHECIES of PROPHETS as well. But what some seventh DAY of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians have failed to see and understand is that there are SHADOWS or figures in the LAW that Jesus ALSO fulfilled and thus ABOLISHED those ORDINANCES that “PICTURE” the Messiah. And to KEEP what Jesus ABOLISHED on the cross is like slapping Jesus in the face saying that his sacrifice was not good enough to make you RIGHTEOUS in the eyes of Almighty God. So then, when we read in 1 John 4:13-21 that if any man SAY that he LOVES God and yet does NOT love his brother, then we know that he is a LIAR and the love of God is not in him. In other words, the world knows that God dwells in us because they see our LOVE for the brethren.
1 John 4:13-21.
“Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he has given us of his SPIRIT. 14. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God. 16. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is LOVE; and he that dwells in LOVE dwells in God, and God in him. (The word dwell also means to REMAIN li LOVE) 17. Herein is our LOVE made perfect, that we may have boldness in the Day of JUDGMENT: because as he is, so are we in this world. 18. There is no fear in LOVE; but perfect LOVE casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in LOVE. (Fear and worry and doubt go hand in hand. So if a Christian is walking in love, and thus keeping all the moral laws by LOVING one another, then there is no fear of not doing enough to please God. So then, perfect LOVE is truly RESTING in the NEW Covenant. But those who wrongly believe that they must keep BOTH covenants, their faith is weak in the New Covenant. And thus, they feel that they must do more to please God than simply keeping the moral commandments by walking in LOVE to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves) 19. We love him because he first loved us. 20. If a man SAYS, I LOVE God, and hates his brother, he is a LIAR: for he that loves NOT his brother whom he has seen, how can he LOVE God whom he has not seen? (So then, we SHOW we LOVE God by walking in LOVE to do unto other as we would have them do unto us) 21. And THIS COMMANDMENT we have him, That he who loves God, LOVES his brother also.”
So then, these TWO LEAST commandments that sum up the WHOLE Law of Moses and the TEN Commandments come down to the ONE command to LOVE one another. For you see, by walking in LOVE toward our fellow MAN we SHOW that we TRULY LOVE God and His Son, Jesus. Every true born again Christian has the Holy Spirit of Almighty God dwelling IN them. And they are led BY the Holy Spirit who writes upon our hearts what we are to do and not do. Now with me, anytime I even think of doing something that Almighty God Himself does not want me to do, I do not have to go and read or memorize every jot and tittle of the law contained in ordinances to see or know if what I am thinking to do is wrong. I do NOT have to LEARN the whole Law of Moses over time. NO! Absolutely NOT! The Holy Spirit within me rebukes me and speaks to my heart saying do not even think about doing that, my son. This is the WAY that God wants to lead His children and NOT by the LETTER of law contained in some carnal ordinances written in the Old Testament under the OLD Covenant. The SIMPLICITY of the TRUTH of the TRUE gospel is to walk in LOVE and to have FAITH IN Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. So walk-in LOVE and OBEY the leading of the Holy Spirit within you, and STAY in the NEW TESTAMENT. For you see, we will be JUDGED by the Law of LIBERTY, according to James 2:12. So then, with that being said, let us begin this study in God's word by taking a quote directly from the 119 Ministries website. I feel the need to SHOW my readers HOW they ERROR in their INTERPRETATIONS of the Scriptures. I will place what I copy and paste from their 119 Ministries website in a different font style like this, so it will be easier to distinguish what they are teaching from what I am showing you to be the TRUTH from the WHOLE word of God. I want to begin this study in God's word with Colossians 2:16, which deals with the question of whether or not the feast days and the Sabbath days have been ABOLISHED by being FULFILLED or not. I also want to show you directly from the teachings of 119 Ministry because I want to show you how subtle the enemy is to deceive God's people by simply ASKING QUESTIONS to redirect what you believe. Please keep in mind that it is the Grace ALONE, once saved always saved believers, that wrongly teaches that ALL the law, including the MORAL has been ABOLISHED and NOT the Bible ITSELF. The Bible itself clearly teaches us that there are CHANGES in the LAW and that ONLY the law contained in ORDINANCES has been nailed to the cross. But the Bible does NOT teach us that the MORAL laws have been abolished. I point this out right up front because Sabbath-keeping churches use the “false” teachings of OTHER church denominations to try to prove what they teach are Biblical. And it is not just the 119 Ministries and only Sabbath-keeping churches that do this kind of “redirecting” your focus to something that is false to try to prove that “THEIR” teaching is Biblical. So please keep in mind that it is not so much the asking of questions, but more so on getting one to FOCUS on that one verse or that one part of the passage of Scripture without keeping in mind the REST of God's word. I call this TUNNEL VISION where those who are being deceived seem to be so intensely focused on just a few verses of Scripture that somehow they just do not see the whole picture. Here is an example of how QUESTIONS are used to DECEIVE God's people, even though they are sincere valid questions in the eyes of those who are asking them. For you see, they sincerely believe that they are teaching the truth. These quotes again are taken from 119 Ministries website in one of their articles. Again, the emphasis is mine. What I highlight in green is what the Bible ITSELF does NOT teach. And what I highlight in blue is what the Bible does indeed teach us in SIMPLICITY throughout the entire Bible. So what is highlighted in blue is the TRUTH and what is highlighted in green is the PERSUASION that is NOT from Almighty God. And what I highlight in yellow is the actual commandments that are under discussion in the CONTEXT and NOT the MORAL commandments of God. And the comments in parentheses in Times Roman font style are also mine. Their words are in Courier New font style.
Colossians 2:16 – Has the Lord’s Sabbath and Feast Days Been Abolished?
Did Paul tell the Colossians that they should not let themselves be judged for keeping God's commandments or for not keeping God's commandments (Lord's Sabbath & Feast Days)? There is a difference. We require context to know. Were the Colossians being compelled by false teachers to not keep the Lord's Sabbath and Feast days or compelling the Colossians to keep them? (Notice how they add FALSE teachers, but it is the Apostle Paul that is doing the teaching. So the are IMPLYING that it is a FALSE or incorrect “INTERPRETATION” to say that the Apostle Paul is teaching us to not allow others to judge us for NOT KEEPING the Sabbath and feast day commandments of God) If we answer that, then we can answer the first question. We require context to know.
Please notice that the writer of this article from 119 Ministries is asking us two questions. He is showing that there are TWO different “interpretations” of this passage of Scripture. And only ONE of these interpretations is the TRUTH and the other interpretation is FALSE teaching. And he ADDS what he INTERPRETS to be the FALSE understanding of the words of the Apostle Paul. This is the very same tactic that Satan used in the Garden of Eden on Eve trying to get Eve to QUESTION what God had actually said. In other words, “Did the Apostle Paul actually say to not allow others to judge you for NOT keeping the commandments of the Sabbaths and the feast days?” Or is the Apostle Paul actually saying to not allow others to judge you for KEEPING the Sabbath days and the feast days? So then, the first question that is asked in this article from the 119 Ministries is as follows.
''Did Paul tell the Colossians that they should not let themselves be judged for KEEPING God's commandments OR for NOT keeping God's commandments (Lord's Sabbath & Feast Days)?
Well, the sound Biblical answer is quite obvious to me. For you see, the Holy Spirit brought many other verses to my remembrance that AGREE or support the CORRECT answer. And the correct sound Biblical answer is that Paul is teaching the believers at the church of Colosse that they should not let themselves be judged for NOT keeping the LAW concerning eating MEAT or drinking. Paul is clearly teaching us to let no man judge you in respect of NOT KEEPING a holy day, or a new moon, or of Sabbath days. So once again, Paul is teaching us in SIMPLICITY to not allow others to judge you for NOT KEEPING any of these days as the JEWS. For you see, Paul teaches us in his other letters that a certain SECT of Judaizing Jewish Christians were COMPELLING, TROUBLING, and SUBVERTING Gentile Christians to KEEP the Law of Moses. But even without all the other passages of Scripture that CLEARLY teach us that NO SUCH commandment was given by the church to KEEP the Law of Moses, the very CONTEXT of Colossians 2:14-17 clearly and plainly teaches us to NOT KEEP the dietary laws, the yearly feast days, the monthly new moon festival, AND the WEEKLY Sabbath DAYS. So WHAT context PROVES beyond any shadow of a doubt that this is the CORRECT sound Biblical interpretation of Colossians 2:14-17.
Please read the CONTEXT in Colossians 2:3,4,6-8,10,11.
“In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (So what are some of the TREASURES that we have IN Jesus Christ?) 4. And this I say, lest any man should BEGUILE you with enticing words… …6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7, Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ... …10. And you are COMPLETE in him, which is the head of all principality and power: (So the CONTEXT is about being COMPLETE in Jesus Christ and NOT needing to keep the Law of Moses) 11. In whom ALSO you ARE circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:”
So then, do not allow other to judge you for NOT KEEPING the Law of Moses to be circumcised in the flesh made with hands. WHY? Because we are COMPLETE in Jesus. So the CONTEXT is about being COMPLETE in Jesus and that we ARE circumcised by our FAITH in Jesus as being the TRUE circumcision of cutting away sins to enter into the NEW COVENANT. Do you see HOW the first circumcision inthe flesh made with hands was a SIGN pointing to the TRUE circumcision of Jesus Christ cutting away the sins of our flesh? So then, just as circumcision was a SHADOW pointing to jesus as the BODY of the shadow, so also are the feast days and the weekly Sabbath day of REST SHADOWS pointing to Jesus as the TRUE meaning of why those commandments were given to the children of Israel in the first place. They were a SCHOOLMASTER to lead them to Jesus just like Paul teaches us in Galatians 3:22-25. Also, WHY would the Jewish Chriatians, whether they were teaching traditions of men or teaching the LAW of God, JUDGE Christians who were supposedly already being taught to KEEP these laws? The TRUTH of the matter is that these Christians were being JUDGED by a CERTAIN SECT of Jewish Christians for NOT KEEPING the WHOLE LAW contained in ordinances. Let us read this verse in question being kept in its close CONTEXT first. And then by reading the verses that follow it, then you can see that the context remains the SAME as we just saw in Colossians 2:3-11.
Please read Colossians 2:16 AND verse 17 first.
“Let no man THEREFORE judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: (Notice the word “THEREFORE”, which means for THIS VERY REASON. What is the very reason? The very reason that we are COMPLETE in Jesus and that we ARE circumcised BY the TRUE circumcision of Jesus Christ. And thus, the true sound Biblical meaning of verse 16 is that Paul is saying to not allow that certain sect of Judaizing Christians to JUDGE you for NOT keeping the Law of Moses contained in the handwriting of ORDINANCES) 17. Which are a SHADOW of things to come; BUT the BODY (Or the TRUE) is OF Christ.”
Now, the verse that immediately follows verse 16, the verse in question, tells us the REASON for WHY these ordinances in the LAW which were NAILED to the cross and taken out of the way. They were a SHADOW of things prophesied to come. They were a “schoolmaster” teaching the Jews about the Messiah to bring them to saving faith in Jesus. And then Paul goes on to teach us that the true body is OF Christ. A SHADOW is a figure of something that is TRUE. To say this another way, we can see a shadow of a cross and know to LOOK for the cross. In other words, Paul is making a DISTINCTION from what these FALSE sects of Judaizing teachers, who were trying to impose the WHOLE LAW contained in ordinances upon Christians, from the TRUTH of the gospel. Paul was teaching us to NOT ALLOW their JUDGING you to to SUBVERT you in order to bring you under the YOKE of bondage of the LAW of Moses contained in carnal ordinances. For you see, IF Paul was truly teaching us to KEEP the Law of Moses as Sabbath-keeping Christians CLAIM that that Apostle Paul is saying in verse 16, then Paul would have never taught us that the Law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES was ABOLISHED by Jesus on the cross, according to Ephesians 2:8-15. I will only quote verse 15 because every Christian already knows full well that we are saved by grace and NOT by WORKS. But what some Christians have failed to see is that Paul DEFINES those WORKS as being the works of the LAW contained in ORDINANCES in verse 15 that Jesus ABOLISHED on the cross.
Please read Ephesians 2:15.
“Having ABOLISHED in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; ”
An “ENMITY” is something that is AGAINST you. So by COMPARING Scripture with Scripture to allow the Scriptures to interpret themselves as what God INTENDS them to mean, we can see that Paul uses the SAME wording in Colossians 2:11-14.
“In whom ALSO you are CIRCUMCISED with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh BY the circumcision of Christ: 12. Buried with him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who has raised him from the dead. 13. And you, being dead in your sins AND (You being DEAD in) the uncircumcision of your flesh, has he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14. Blotting out (Or ABOLISHING) the handwriting of ordinances (The ENMITY, even the LAW of commandments contained in ORDINANCES) that was AGAINST us, which was CONTRARY to us, (Or which we were UNDER) and took it out of the WAY, nailing it to his cross;”
The Greek word translated as “contrary” means UNDER. And the WAY speaks of the WAY to God. So the OLD WAY to God was to be UNDER the Old Covenant that was AGAINST the children of Israel because WITH the LAW there is the knowledge of sin which brings death. But Jesus died on the cross to set us FREE from sin and death. And NOW, the only WAY to the Father is through FAITH in Jesus, who is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE. Jesus said that God is a Spirit and now God seeks us to worship him in SPIRIT and in TRUTH. And Jesus is the TRUTH that all of the SHADOWS in the LAW and the prophets point to. So NOW, according to Romans 7:6, and 2 Corinthians 3:6-17, we are under the NEW COVENANT and we are to keep the NEWNESS of the SPIRIT of the law and NOT the OLDNESS of the LETTER of the law contained in ORDINANCES. 2 Corinthians 3:7,13 and many other verses clearly teach us that the Old Covenant has been abolished and done away with, and God no longer accepts the works of the law. Now, going back to Colossians 2:16, the verse in question, notice the word “BUT” in the very next verse, Colossians 2:17. The first part of verse 17 teaches us that the things in verse 16 are SHADOWS, then it says, “BUT the BODY is OF Christ. Now the word “BODY” also means the MASS of anything. In other words, the WHOLE of all the PARTS is OF Christ. The parts that were SHADOWS were the law contained in ORDINANCES and in the prophecies of the Old Testament foreshadowing that which was to come. And we all agree that which was prophesied to come is Jesus. So Paul is saying that Jesus is the BODY or the HEART of the WHOLE matter that the SHADOWS point to. Plain and simple, the ceremonial laws contained in ordinances were SHADOWS pointing to Jesus. Now let us take a closer look at the whole CONTEXT starting with verse eight in Colossians chapter 2. Do NOT forget the CONTEXT starting in verse 3, in whom are all the TREASURES hidden lest any man BEGUILE you with PERSUASIVE words. Remember that the PERSUASION to keep the Law of Moses does NOT come from Almighty God, according to Galatians 5:4-10.
Colossians 2:8-17
“BEWARE lest (Or for fear that) any man SPOIL you through philosophy and vain DECEIT, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and NOT after Christ. 9. For in him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10. And you are COMPLETE in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 11. In whom ALSO you ARE CIRCUMCISED with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh BY the circumcision OF Christ: (So then, the law of circumcision ITSELF was NOT ABOLISHED! But rather, there was a CHANGE in the WAY we NOW keep the law of circumcision under the NEW Covenant written in the New Testament. The law contained in ORDINANCES of HOW to keep the law of circumcision under the OLD Covenant written in the Old Testament was NAILED to the cross. And NOW under the New Covenant, we ARE keeping SPIRIT and TRUTH of the LAW of circumcision BY our faith IN Jesus. So by CEASING from keeping the WORKS of the LAW we are worshiping God in SPIRIT and TRUTH as God seeks for us to worship Him) 12. Buried with him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with him through the FAITH of the operation of God, who has raised him from the dead. 13. And you, being dead in your sins and the UNCIRCUMCISION of your flesh, has he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; (Without being circumcised in the FLESH after the Law of Moses, we ARE circumcise with the TRUE CIRCUMCISION by FAITH in Jesus cutting away our sins) 14. Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the WAY, nailing it to his cross; (Now again, some Sabbath-keepers argue that is was NOT the Jews who were judging the Gentile Christians for keeping the Sabbath feast days and weekly Sabbath days, but rather, it was the Gnostic Christians. Now, IF this were true, then where is the proof that it was the handwriting of ordinances of some so-called Gnostic Christians that was supposedly against God's people that was nailed to the cross and taken out of the way? THINK these things through for yourself dear children of God. Moses wrote down the ordinances of the law and placed them on the side of the ARK. The handwriting of ordinances was the INSTRUCTIONS on HOW to keep the law. So it was the WAY of HOW TO KEEP the law of God that was nailed to the cross and taken out of the way. The WAY to keep the fourth commandment has CHANGED to RESTING in Jesus as our TRUE REST. The WAY to keep the feast days CHANGED. So the Jewish Christians no longer keep the OLDNESS of the LETTER of the feast of Passover because Jesus IS our Passover lamb. And NOW we keep SPIRIT and TRUTH of the Passover law BY our faith IN Jesus as the TRUE Passover Lamb that the SHADOW pointed to which was to come. We keep the law of SACRIFICE by our faith IN Jesus and NOT according to OLD Covenant law contained in the handwriting of ordinances written in the Old Testament. And again, we as Christians ARE keeping the Sabbath commandment to REST BY our faith IN Jesus as are TRUE REST. Jesus IS our Sabbath rest. ALSO, Ephesians 2:15 SPECIFICALLY identifies the ORDINANCES that were nailed to the cross as being the LAW of the COMMANDMENTS) 15. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. 16. Let no man, THEREFORE (Or for this very reason of Jesus BLOTTING OUT the handwriting of ordinances that were against us, which were contrary to us he took it out of the way NAILING it to the CROSS let no man) judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17. Which are a SHADOW of things to come; BUT the BODY is OF Christ.”
The dietary laws and how to keep the feast days and the weekly Sabbath days were written down as ordinances. The moral laws were placed inside the ark and the handwriting of ordinances was placed in the side of the ark. The handwriting of ordinances was a SHADOW pointing to Jesus, our CIRCUMCISION is OF Christ, to enter into the NEW COVENANT. And NOW, we ARE keeping the TRUE Sabbath by RESTING IN Jesus Christ for our RIGHTEOUSNESS. Jesus IS our REST. The feast days are a SHADOW, BUT the BODY is OF Christ. Jesus IS our TRUE PASSOVER Lamb so there is no need to keep the LETTER of the law after we know what the SHADOW points to. Also, keep in mind that the Sabbath-keeping “interpretation” that we as Christian are not to let ourselves be judged by others for KEEPING the WHOLE LAW written in the Old Testament CONTRADICTS even the Old Testament Scriptures, For you see, the Sabbath rest was given ONLY to the children of Israel for THEM to keep throughout THEIR generations. And the Apostle Paul is very CONSISTENT to maintain that there is a DIFFERENCE between being under the LAW, as given to the JEWS under the OLD covenant and being under GRACE. And Paul is very clear in teaching us that the Gentiles were NOT under the Old Covenant being without God and without hope. But NOW, the blood of Christ has made the Gentiles who BELIEVE to be a NEW CREATURE even as the Jews who BELIEVE are made new creatures created in Jesus Christ under the New Covenant. And the New Covenant was put into FORCE by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. We will come back to this verse with much more clear, plain, and simple evidence from God's word that without a doubt teaches us that the CORRECT interpretation of Colossians 2:16 is that Paul is teaching us NOT to keep these ordinances in the law in respect of MEAT and the keeping of days such as the Sabbath days. But for now, let us continue to take a closer look at the argument used by the Hebrew Roots Movement and the 119 Ministries to try to support their teaching that Christians are to KEEP ALL the LAW given in the OLD TESTAMENT contained in carnal ordinances. Here is what they go on to say in their article to answer their own question that they ask. They say that we need to know the CONTEXT and I totally agree that the context is vitally important to be able to CORRECTLY interpret what is meant by any particular verse of Scripture. But please remember that the interpretation that one concludes to believe, to be the correct conclusion, must not only AGREE with ALL the context of that particular passage of Scripture but the INTERPRETATION that is arrived at also must AGREE with the WHOLE word of God as well. And if any interpretation of a verse does NOT agree with the rest of God's word, then that interpretation is NOT the correct interpretation. I have just shown you that SEVERAL parts of the very context do NOT agree with THEIR interpretation that Paul is teaching us that we are to KEEP ALL the LAW contained in ordinances. Paul specifically points out a few of these laws that we as Christians are not to allow others to judge us for NOT KEEPING. Paul specifically points out things concerned with eating MEAT and the KEEPING of days such as the weekly Sabbath day. Now, I want you to also please notice that those at 119 Ministries, as well as all seventh DAY of the week Sabbath-keeping church denominations, ask yet another question before they give you the context. This is again another tactic of the enemy in order to cloud your mind by directing your thoughts to another point. Again, it is not so much the questions, but rather, it is the getting you to focus on this one passage of Scripture and THEIR own personal interpretation so that you do not take into consideration the REST of God's word. I will show you what I mean by this as we continue this study. But first, I want you to read again the second question that is asked in this article written by the 119 Ministries.
Were the Colossians being compelled by false teachers to NOT KEEP the Lord's Sabbath and Feast days OR compelling the Colossians to KEEP them?
Again, these are valid questions and they certainly seem to be sincere. And, therefore, these questions should not be ignored by those who KNOW the TRUTH. Also, the instruction to read the CONTEXT is good sound Biblical advice. But I must caution you, the reader, that just because these questions are sincere VALID questions does not ALWAYS mean that what is being taught is good SOUND BIBLICAL teaching. You will soon see what I mean by this as we continue looking at the teaching from this article before I actually show you the ERROR that was made by the 119 Ministries and the Hebrew Roots Movement in their INTERPRETATION of Colossians 2:16. The word COMPEL means to necessitate or to teach someone to FEEL that it is mandatory. For example, Galatians 2:3 teaches us the Titus was NOT COMPELLED to be circumcised. And seeing that Paul was with Titus, it would be a stretch to interpret Paul’s words in Colossians 2:16 that Paul was COMPELLING Christ to KEEP the Law of Moses. Please continue to read more of their arguments to try to support their teaching that Christians must keep ALL the LAW written in the Old Testament.
Were the Colossians being taught commandments of MEN and ways of the world OR God's commandments? And that is the context we require to answer all questions. All of these questions are designed to force a reader to answer what is called context. What is the context surrounding this verse? Col 2:16-17 16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. If we cite just one verse, such as Colossians 2:16, isolated from its surrounding context then we can not even answer the first question: Did Paul tell the Colossians that they should not let themselves be judged for keeping God's commandments or not keeping God's commandments (Lord's Sabbath & Feast Days)? That is the question we need to answer. And to answer such a question we need to understand if the context is “commandments of MEN” or “commandments of God.” Again, there is a difference. Men are not God. Men have their own commandments and ways and God has His own commandments and ways (i.e. Mark 7:1-13). We need to know exactly what the false teachers were teaching to understand exactly what Paul is correcting. To know exactly what the false teachers were teaching we need to read, understand, and apply the context and also know the doctrine of the false teachers. Doesn't that make sense? It should. Colossians is obviously a letter, with a beginning and end, serving a specific focus, and full of context. Remember, the Colossians know full well the context and the debate at hand. They are living in it. We have to pull in clues to construct the context and the debate at hand, and certainly refrain from inserting the context of our own bias. We do not want to make the common error of verse plucking Scripture out of context and forcing a paradigm on it. We have to work on understanding this letter slightly more than those receiving it.
Again, all of the above is very sound advice, but it is HOW this sound advice is actually being used that affects whether or not the interpretation that is concluded is the CORRECT interpretation or not. You see, one can ALSO pluck a verse of Scripture out ITS context that is a verse or part of a verse that is ALSO found IN the context of the verse in question. Let me explain what I just said. You see, in order to try to support what they are teaching, they NEED a verse in the context of verse 16 so that they can TWIST the meaning of that verse of Scripture to fit the TWISTED meaning of verse 16. In other words, the verse or more precisely “the part of the verse” that the 119 Ministries uses to try to support what they teach is ALSO actually taken OUT of ITS context as well. You see, the phrase “commandments of men” is actually taken out of its context and placed in ANOTHER context in Mark 7:1-13. Let me just show you what I mean by this after you read their argument first. For many reasons, we know that the false teachers were the Jewish sect of the Gnostics, NOT Jewish Pharisees. (But yet brother Luke, the writer of the book of Acts, clearly states as a FACT in Acts 15:5 that this certain SECT were of the sect of Jewish PHARISEES. And that sect is who Paul taught AGAINST. For you see, it was that certain SECT of Jewish Christians who were of the SECT of PHARISEES who were WRONGLY TROUBLING, SUBVERTING, and COMPELLING Gentile Christians to KEEP the Law of Moses. And Paul was CORRECTING them in Colossians 2:14-17) The popular NIV Life Application Study Bible even agrees in its commentary that this is the Gnostic sect that is the root cause of doctrinal problems to the Colossians. So this understanding is nothing that is not already well understood and taught by some Biblical scholars. (And, as well all know, SOME Biblical scholars AND commentaries are WRONG) Why is this important? The Gnostic doctrine is full of “principles of the world,” and “commandments and teachings of men.” The Gnostics would not be commanding the Colossians to keep God's feasts by any stretch. They would be teaching them not to, that they are just "spiritual", and have no value. Sound familiar as any doctrine today? Because the feasts and Sabbath involve “food and drink” the Gnostics would consider God’s Feasts and Sabbath as actually evil. This is why the Gnostics considered the God of the Old Testament (as though God could change) as evil and the God of the New Testament as not evil (again, sound familiar?) What most do not consider is that there is a spiritual and physical application for every one of God’s commandments, and one does not override or trump the other. The physical teaches the spiritual. (And that is exactly what Paul is teaching. The PHYSICAL letter of the law was a SHADOW teaching the SPIRITUAL, which is Jesus as the FULFILLMENT of the SHADOW. And the Sabbath is called a SHADOW in Colossians 2:17 the verse next verse) The inward produces the outward. Y’shua (Jesus) taught us that in His first parable. So that is WHY Paul said YES, the Feasts still have value, and they ARE prophetic foreshadowing of what is TO COME (verse 17). In other words, don’t listen to the corrupted Gnostics and throw the Lord's Feasts and Sabbaths out the window. They (the Gnostics) do not know that they are in serious error and certainly do not let them judge you with their supposed “special knowledge” of “things not seen.” Therefore, keep the Feasts and do not let anyone judge you for keeping them. See how context defines the verse for us?
No, but I can see how THEY have TWISTED the Scriptures to their OWN DESTRUCTION. Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ how those at 119 Ministries redirected the TRUE meaning of the context of this passage of Scripture to FIT their OWN BIAS interpretation by sidetracking your faith from the word of God ALONE. For you see, by their assumption that these false teachers that were judging these believers at Colosse were GNOSTIC Jews and NOT Jewish believers of the sect of PHARISEES. Like brother Luke teaches us in Acts 2:5, they have taken TRADITION of MEN and placed it OVER what the Bible ITSELF actually teaches. Can you not see how they use a COMMENTARY written by man as the basis for making such an assumption? A Bible commentary is simply the OPINION of men. And certainly, even the 119 Ministries would agree that not all Biblical Scholars in some of the “commentaries” are sound Biblical comments. It does not matter if these were Gnostic Jews or Jewish Christians of the sect of Pharisees. What matters is that these Jewish Christians, whether they were Gnostic Jews or Jewish Christians, were judging Christians for NOT KEEPING law contained in ORDINANCES as was written in the Old Testament. For you see, the CONTEXT clearly teaches us that the CIRCUMCISION received by the Gentile believers was NOT MADE with physical hands, but rather, we ARE circumcised with the CIRCUMCISION OF Christ. And thus, Paul teaches AGAINST keeping the Law of Moses. THEREFORE, Paul is teaching us to NOT be TROUBLED by those who are JUDGING us for NOT KEEPING the Law of Moses. So again, where is the proof that it was some Gnostic Jew's writings of ordinances that were nailed to the cross and taken out of the way? It was the ordinances of God that were nailed to the cross. The commandments and doctrines of MEN in Colossians 2:22 are directly connected to the commandments of Almighty God under the Old Covenant written in the Old Testament. And it was the Jewish Pharisees in Mark 7:1-13 who Jesus REBUKES calling them HYPOCRITES. The CONTEXT of Mark 7:1-13 is about worshiping God CORRECTLY the way God SEEKS to be worshiped in SPIRIT and in TRUTH. Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ that IF these believers in Jesus Christ were truly indeed KEEPING the WHOLE law of God OR the TRADITIONS of MEN, then WHY would the unsaved Jews JUDGING and persecuting them for KEEPING the law of God. And WHY would these supposed so-called Gnostic Jews JUDGE them for KEEPING the TRADITIONS of MEN that they supposedly taught. Just ask yourself the question “Is the law of CIRCUMCISION” written in the Law of MOSES? Yes, it is! So then, IF SO BE that the INTERPRETATION of the 119 Ministries is the correct interpretation, then it would be clearly taught in the New Testament that we as Christians MUST be circumcised in the FLESH in order to be saved just like the law of GOD commands in the TORAH. But it does NOT! In fact, the NEW Testament rebukes the Jewish Christians for TRYING that make the Gentile believers be circumcised AND KEEP ALL the Law of Moses. Being circumcised in the flesh was their TRADITION. And that TRADITION and DOCTRINE of men was NAILED to the cross and taken out of the WAY. There was a CHANGE made in the LAW of God at the CROSS. And that change is in the HOW we NOW keep the ceremonial laws and other laws contained in ordinances. And the HOW that we now keep the LAW of God is BY our FAITH IN Jesus. If we truly LOVE God, then we will BELIEVE in His Son, Jesus. And if we believe in Jesus we will walk in LOVE. And when we do BOTH of these TWO commandments we KEEP ALL of the LAW that Almighty God REQUIRES for us to receive eternal life in the world to come. In other words, we ARE INDEED keeping the law of circumcision given to Abraham and then written in the Law of Moses. BUT the WAY in which we NOW keep the law of circumcision has CHANGED from the circumcision of the flesh made with HANDS to the circumcision of our heart BY our FAITH in Jesus.
Please read Hebrews 7:11,12.
“If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (For under it the people received the LAW) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? 12. For the priesthood being changed, there is MADE, of necessity, a CHANGE ALSO of the LAW.”
The Greek word translated as “CHANGE” here is the same Greek word translated as “TRANSLATED” in Hebrews 14 where Enoch was TRANSLATED by God. Enoch was TRANSFERRED from one place to ANOTHER place. And the WAY of keeping the law was TRANSFERRED to FAITH in Jesus. And now under the NEW Covenant, we ARE circumcised by our faith IN Jesus. To say this another way, Jesus IS our circumcision. And, therefore, do not allow any man to judge you for NOT being circumcised in the flesh made with hands, for it was a SHADOW pointing to our TRUE circumcision IN Jesus Christ not made with hands. And in the SAME way, do not allow those TROUBLING you by their JUDGING you for NOT KEEPING the weekly Sabbath DAY as DAY of REST. For you ARE keeping the TRUE REST by your FAITH in Jesus for RIGHTEOUSNESS. Now, it may very well be that some of what these Christians were being deceived or compelled to believe might have come from some Gnostic sect of Jews. Please read the six part study called E-24. Are You SURE You Have the TRUE GOSPEL? But for now, other verses in this same context clearly point to the Jewish Christians of the SECT of Pharisees in Acts 15:5, who were judging the Gentile Christians of not being saved UNTIL they were circumcised AND that they KEEP the Law of Moses. For you see, Paul was ALSO warning these Christians in Colossians to NOT to be CIRCUMCISED. So the CONTEXT of this same letter to the Colossians, Paul is teaching them not to be JUDGED for NOT KEEPING the holy days or yearly feast days, the monthly new moon festivals, the weekly Sabbath days and eating of meat forbidden to be eating in the Law of Moses contained in ordinances. Please read Colossians 2:1-14 where we see the EMPHASIS being placed is upon Jesus Christ and what these Christians at Colosse were taught to believe according to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Colossians 2:1-14.
“For I would that you knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; (So Paul is contending AGAINST a certain SECT of Jewish Judaizing Christians of the sect of Pharisee, according to Acts 2:5. Paul writes this letter to COMFORT the hearts of the Christians being TROUBLED by this certain SECT of Judaizing Jewish Christians) 2. That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in LOVE, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; 3. In whom are hid all the TREASURES of wisdom and knowledge. (And again, one of the TREASURES is the Law of LIBERTY. The Law of LIBERTY is good news to the Jews who are under the YOKE of BONDAGE of keeping the Law of Moses to the LETTER of the law) 4. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. (Or the REASON I say this is for fear of any man BEGUILING you with PERSUASIVE words) 5. For though I am absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith IN Christ. 6. As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk you in him: (And Paul said in Galatians 3:2,3, This only would I learn of you, Do you RECEIVE the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh? So the CONTEXT is about walk in FAITH in Jesus Christ being) 7. Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8. BEWARE lest any man spoils you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, (Again, it was Jewish TRADITION to keep the dietary laws written in the Old Testament under the old covenant, to keep the feast days, to keep the new moon festivals and to keep the weekly Sabbath days) after the rudiments of the world, (Or the ceremonial services to God under the OLD Covenant) and NOT after Christ. (Paul is not isolating traditions of MEN as the SOLE means of being deceived as the 119 Ministries would have you believe in order to support their teaching to keep the Law of Moses, which CONTRADICTS Acts 15:10,24. And thus, they are TEMPTING Almighty God Himself by subverting Christians to KEEP the Law of Moses. And Paul is WARNING us not to be deceived by ANY means, #1. by vain deceit, #2. by traditions of men, and #3. by the rudiments of the world. The rudiments of the world are speaking of the ceremonial laws contained in ordinances. According to Hebrews 9:1, the Old Covenant had ORDINANCES of DIVINE SERVICE to God done in a WORLDLY sanctuary. “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.” And according to the CONTEXT in the previous verse of Scripture, Hebrews 8:13, Almighty God MADE the FIRST Covenant OLD and it was ready to VANISH away. And in 70 AD the OLD COvenant completely VANISHED AWAY seeing the eh Jewish Temple or worldly sanctuary was completely destroyed. But in TRUTH, the Old Covenant was ABOLISHED at the CROSS. And NOW, God only accepts His NEW COVENANT. And that is why Paul says it is VAIN to serve the LAW, because it profits you NOTHING) 9. For (Or because) in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. 10. And you are COMPLETE in him, which is the head of all principality and power: (We are NOT made COMPLETE in or by the LAW of Moses written in the TORAH. The CONTEXT of what Paul is teaching us here is that we, as Christians, are COMPLETE IN Jesus. So it makes no sense to say that Paul was teaching Christians to not allow others to judge us for keeping the Law of Moses, because we are complete in Jesus. But it makes perfect sense to say that Paul was teaching us to not allow the Jews to judge us for NOT keeping the Law of Moses BECAUSE we are COMPLETE IN Jesus Christ) 11. In whom ALSO you ARE CIRCUMCISED with the circumcision made WITHOUT HANDS, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh BY the circumcision OF Christ: (Again, the LAW of circumcision is in the CONTEXT. So it should be clear to anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear that Paul is NOT talking about some supposed Gnostic Greeks or some so-called Gnostic Jews as being some Gnostic law contained in ordinances that were NAILED to the cross and taken out of the way. Paul is talking about the ENMITY in Ephesians 2:15 that Jesus ABOLISH on the cross) 12. Buried with him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with him through the FAITH of the operation of God, who has raised him from the dead. 13. And you, being DEAD in your sins AND the UNCIRCUMCISION of your FLESH, has he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; (To BECOME circumcised in our heart without hands by our faith IN Jesus) 14. BLOTTING OUT the handwriting of ORDINANCES that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it OUT of the WAY, NAILING it to HIS CROSS;”
You see, the GENTILES are without the Law of Moses and uncircumcised in the flesh. And thus the handwriting contained in ordinances was against the GENTILES for they hand no COVENANT with God. But Jesus nailed those ordinances under the Old Covenant to the cross to make a WAY to save the Gentiles as well. Now, we all know that it is the custom of the Jews to be CIRCUMCISED in the FLESH. And we also know that it was their CUSTOM or TRADITION because they were obeying the LAW OF GOD and NOT some TRADITIONS of men that was not the law of God. In other words, this LAW, this ORDINANCE, this CUSTOM, this TRADITION, this REGULATION to be CIRCUMCISED was NOT a commandment or law of MAN. But rather, this ORDINANCE was a commandment of Almighty God Himself as a SIGN or token of the covenant God made with Abraham, which continued to be obeyed on through the LAW of Moses right up to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ where this SHADOW of things to come was NAILED to HIS CROSS forever, BLOTTING OUT this handwriting of ORDINANCES that were AGAINST the Jews. Some may try and argue that this is just MY interpretation of this passage of Scripture by bringing up Matthew 5:17,18 where Jesus says that he did NOT come to DESTROY the LAW. You see, it is that TUNNEL VISION that I am warning you about. When those who become DECEIVED by a FALSE INTERPRETATION of one passage of Scripture, then their eyes somehow become blind to the rest of God's word. And thus, they wrongly INTERPRET all other verses ONLY in the light of THEIR OWN personal interpretation of that ONE passage of Scripture. In other words, they base their entire faith in the ONE verse of Scripture that they have INCORRECTLY interpreted. Please read the full in-depth study I have on Dd-23. What does MATTHEW 5:17,18 TRULY Mean? But, for now, the word translated as destroy also means that Jesus did not come to COMPLETELY destroy the law but to FULFILL the law. The phrase, fulfill the law, does not mean that the law was abolished but rather it means that what the law was POINTING TO was fulfilled. The law was the schoolmaster of the children of Israel leading them to their Messiah. Once a person graduates, they reach the GOAL of what the school was teaching them. So then, we all agree that the LAW contained in ordinances concerning the animal sacrifices was a SHADOW pointing to the TRUE. And now that the TRUE has come, there was the necessity of a CHANGE in the LAW concerning the WAY in which we keep the law of shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sin. And the SAME is true will ALL of the Law of Moses contained in ordinances. Therefore, we must COMPARE any interpretation that we conclude with the WHOLE word of God to see if there are any contradictions. So then, let us compare this interpretation that the handwriting of the ORDINANCES that were against us, not only means that all our past SINS were forgiven us, but ALSO that the BLOTTING OUT of the handwriting of ORDINANCES against us means that the VERY ORDINANCES of the LAW themselves were BLOTTED OUT as well. Please read Ephesians 2:11-20 which clearly and plainly teaches us that the ENMITY or that which is AGAINST us is, in fact, the LAW contained in ORDINANCES was ABOLISHED by Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior and that this is the FOUNDATION of the Apostles, the prophets and Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone that we are built upon. The LAW itself was NOT abolished, but rather, it was the law contained in ORDINANCES that was abolished. Please read the study called Dd-5. What Does Contained in ORDINANCES Mean? Again, the ordinances are the INSTRUCTION of HOW to keep the law under the OLD covenant. And the INSTRUCTIONS on HOW to keep the law of God under the NEW Covenant are written in the NEW Testament.
Ephesians 2:11-20.
“Wherefore, remember, that you being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision BY that which is called the Circumcision in the FLESH made BY HANDS; 12. That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13. But NOW IN Christ Jesus, you who sometimes were far off are made nigh BY the blood of Christ. 14. For he is our PEACE, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15. Having ABOLISHED in his flesh the ENMITY, EVEN the LAW of commandments contained in ORDINANCES; (Meaning the ceremonial law and not the MORAL law toward our fellow man has been abolished in the flesh of Jesus) for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making PEACE; 16. And that he might reconcile BOTH unto God in one body by the cross, having SLAIN the ENMITY (Which is the LAW of Moses and the ceremonial commandment is the TEN Commandments contained in ORDINANCES) thereby: 17. And came and PREACHED PEACE to YOU (GENTILES) which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18. For through him we BOTH have the ACCESS by one Spirit unto the Father. 19. Now, therefore, you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the HOUSEHOLD of God; 20. And are built upon the FOUNDATION of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone;”
Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, that Paul is preaching the very same thing in both Ephesians chapter 2 and Colossians chapter 2 which is that this ENMITY that is AGAINST us is indeed EVEN the VERY LAW itself contained in ORDINANCES speaking of the ceremonial laws that Jesus FULFILLED, ABOLISHED, SLEW, took OUT of the WAY, BLOTTED OUT and NAILED to his CROSS once and for all time for those of us who are IN Jesus Christ. Please understand that I am NOT speaking of the MORAL law being ABOLISHED, but rather, Paul is talking about the CEREMONIAL laws foreshadowing the coming of Jesus. The yearly feast days were shadows pointing to the comings of Jesus both his first coming and his second coming. The feast days were a schoolmaster teaching the Jews of their coming Messiah. And once a Jew “passed” school, so to speak, and came to the truth that Jesus is their Messiah, then there is no longer a need for the schoolmaster. Jesus came to FULFILL the law and the prophets pertaining to the FORESHADOWING of his coming, which is the CEREMONIAL laws such as the feast days, the new moons, the Sabbath days, the dietary laws, the circumcision in the flesh, and the sacrifices. The LAW is still in force, but the WAY of keeping the law has CHANGED. And for a Christian to offer animal sacrifices for their sins would be like slapping God and His Son in their face. And that is WHY Paul warns Christians who keep the Law of Moses that they are FALLEN from grace and Christ no longer profits them. Even the keeping of MORAL laws has CHANGED from what is written in the Old Testament, but that is for another study. Let us now take a look at Galatians chapter 2, which AGAIN AGREES with what Paul is teaching about NOT KEEPING these ORDINANCES such as being CIRCUMCISED in the flesh made with HANDS and observing holy days and Sabbath days or eating MEAT as was the custom or the tradition of the Jews because it was the LAW of GOD.
Galatians 2:1-21.
“Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. 2. And I went up by revelation and communicated unto them that GOSPEL which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, (Speaking of the JEWS that were compelling Christians to keep ALL the Law of Moses) lest by any means I should run, or had run, in VAIN. 3. But NEITHER Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be CIRCUMCISED: (In other words, these JEWS of the reputation who came in unaware as spies were COMPELLING these Gentile Christians to be CIRCUMCISED and to follow the LAW of Moses, but they did NOT succeed, because Paul says that NEITHER Titus was COMPELLED to be CIRCUMCISED) 4. And that because of FALSE brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to SPY out our liberty which we have IN Christ Jesus, THAT (Or so that, or IN ORDER THAT) they (Speaking of those of the reputation, the leaders or teachers of the Jews being these FALSE brethren whoever they were) might bring us into BONDAGE: (Speaking of being brought back into the bondage of the LAW contained in ORDINANCES that were ABOLISHED, SLAIN, NAILED to the CROSS and BLOTTED OUT by FAITH if Jesus Christ) 5. To whom (Speaking of these SPIES, these FALSE teachers pretending to be our brethren, but who are wolves in sheep's clothing) we gave place by subjection, NO, NOT for an hour; that the TRUTH of the GOSPEL might CONTINUE with you. 6. But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, [Whether they be GNOSTIC Jews, or Scribes, or Pharisees or just plain JEWS] it makes no matter to me: God accepts no man's person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me: (Please understand that Paul called them false BRETHREN not because they were not true Christians, but rather, because they were NOT teaching the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ.) 7. But contrariwise (Or on the contrary, or quite the opposite), when they SAW that the GOSPEL of the UNCIRCUMCISION was COMMITTED unto me, AS (Or in the SAME WAY AS) the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; 8. (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the Apostleship of the circumcision, the SAME was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) 9. And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the GRACE that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen and they unto the circumcision. 10. Only, they would that, we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do. 11. But when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be BLAMED. 12. For BEFORE that certain came from James, he (Speaking of Peter) did EAT with the Gentiles: (Obviously, Peter was eating MEAT, which the JEWS would JUDGE him as being a transgressor of the LAW of Moses. But some Sabbath keeping Christians argue that it was NOT meat but only food, and it was the eating WITH Gentiles that was the issue. I myself see that Peter was eating meat that was forbidden to be eaten under the Old Covenant law contained in ordinances. Peter already understood by a vision from God that he was no longer to consider unclean what God has cleansed. Also, Paul clearly teaches us that ALL manner of meat has been cleansed and we are free to eat all manner of meat. The Jews were already FREE to eat all manner of FOOD. So the interpretation of merely eating FOOD with the Gentiles does not agree with the whole word of God under the New Covenant) BUT when they (Speaking of those of reputation, the JEWS) had come, he (Peter) withdrew and separated himself, FEARING them which were of the CIRCUMCISION. (Here we see that Peter was being two-faced or being a hypocrite or a man-pleaser teaching the exact opposite to one group of Christians from the other group of Christians. Thus Paul rebuked Peter for setting a bad example for the weaker Christians to follow, and thus, producing confusion among the brethren) 13. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. 14. But when I saw that they walked NOT uprightly according to the TRUTH of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If you, being a Jew (Or if you Peter being a natural-born Jew who was before taught in all manner of JEWISH customs and traditions now being IN Jesus Christ), live after the manner of Gentiles, and NOT as do the Jews, WHY do you COMPEL the Gentiles to LIVE AS DO THE JEWS? (You see, it was NOT that Peter was actually TEACHING or PREACHING to the Gentiles to live as the Jews, but rather it was the ACTIONS of Peter withdrawing himself for FEAR of the JEWS that was COMPELLING the Gentiles to live like the Jews. So, the INTERPRETATION of the 119 Ministries and all Sabbath-keeping churches that it was some so-called Gnostic Greeks or some supposed Gnostic Jews and NOT true Jews who were judging Christians for keeping the law of God is simply a FABLE concocted out of one's own personal interpretation which contradicts many other parts of God's word. How is it dear children of God that you do not understand that we are under a New Covenant and CHANGES have been made in the LAW of God?) 15. We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16. Knowing that a man is NOT justified by the works of the LAW, but BY the FAITH of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the FAITH of Christ, and NOT by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall NO flesh be justified. 17. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is, therefore, Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. 18. For IF I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. (Paul had already clearly taught the Gentile Christians to NOT allow others to judge them for NOT keeping the law contained in ordinances. Paul destroyed all the arguments compelling Christians to keep the Law of Moses contained in ordinances) 19. For I, through the law am dead to the law, (Speaking of the ceremonial laws contained in ORDINANCES) that I might live unto God. (In other words, there is no way that Paul is teaching in Colossians 2:16 for Christian to KEEP the holy days, or to KEEP the feasts days of the new moon, or to KEEP the Sabbath days, or to KEEP the dietary laws of the OLD TESTAMENT, because that would be building AGAIN these things that Paul destroyed by the preaching of the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ) 20. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the FAITH of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21. I do NOT frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness comes by the LAW, then Christ is dead in VAIN.”
So you see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, there is NO WAY that Paul was teaching in Colossians 2:16 for us, as Christians, to KEEP the WHOLE LAW contained ORDINANCES to observe the holy days, the feast days, the Sabbath days, or the dietary laws of the OLD TESTAMENT. But rather, Paul was clearly and plainly teaching us, as Christians, to not allow others to JUDGE us for NOT keeping the WHOLE law contained in ORDINANCES. I mean think about this for a moment, WHY would the Jews be JUDGING these Gentile and Jewish Christians if they were truly being taught by Paul to KEEP the LAW as these JEWS or FALSE teachers, whether they were Gnostic Jews or whether they were true Jews because either way they themselves were teaching Christians the KEEPING of the WHOLE LAW? This makes no sense whatsoever for Paul to be teaching these Christians to NOT let these Jews JUDGE them in the matters of the LAW IF SO BE, that Paul was TRULY teaching these Christians to KEEP the WHOLE LAW. Can you not see how the 119 Ministry and the Hebrew Roots Movement have erred in their INTERPRETATION of the Scriptures? I agree wholeheartedly that the mainstream church has erred as well by going too far to the extreme in their teaching on GRACE ALONE and that we as Christians do not have to keep ANY of the commandments of God in order to obtain eternal life in the world to come. You see on the one side we have those who falsely teach that we as Christians must KEEP the WHOLE LAW of God and then there are those on the other side that falsely teaches that once you accept Jesus, as your savior, then you can NEVER LOSE your salvation no matter what. In other words, they falsely teach that Christians do not have to keep ANY of the commandments of God. The TRUTH of the matter is down the middle, which is that Christians are taught in the New Testament to keep nine of the ten commandments of God. I cover this subject in-depth throughout many of my studies here at AMatterOfTruth.com but in this particular study, I am focusing on the errors of the 119 Ministries, the Hebrew Roots Movement, and all Sabbath-keeping churches which FALSELY teach that we as Christians must keep the WHOLE Law of Moses contained in ordinances written in the Old Testament in the TORAH. Another one of Sabbath-keeping Christians's biggest arguments is that the Old Testament was the ONLY BIBLE that the EARLY church had. Well, that is because the NEW TESTAMENT was being lived by the early church. The gospel was being taught orally at first, and then by letters that would later be gathered together to be written down for us to read after they were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write down what Jesus and the Holy Spirit had taught them to teach us. The TRUTH of the matter is that we have BOTH the Old and the New Testament to be our guide, but more so, we also have the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth. Also, please know and understand that the Bereans were NOT looking up in the Old Testament about the LAW. But rather, they were searching the word of God daily to see if the Old Testament prophesied of Jesus as being their MESSIAH, because that is what they were being TAUGHT. So the argument of there NOT being a NEW Testament at the time does not hold water so to speak. None of the Apostles of Jesus were teaching the LAW to be saved, but were rather teaching that the law and the prophets all pointed to Jesus as being the CHRIST. And it was the prophecies of Jesus which the Bereans were searching daily in the word of God to see if what they were being TAUGHT was indeed the TRUTH. So then, now that we have seen that there are errors on both sides where one side is falsely teaching us to keep ALL the law and the other side is falsely teaching that we do not need to keep ANY of the commandments in order to obtain ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come, this brings us to the purpose of this study, which is to expose the errors of the 119 Ministries, and all Sabbath-keeping churches. Again, this is not to say that other false teachings are any less important. But rather, the focus of this particular study is to point out the errors of the 119 Ministries. Nevertheless, as we continue looking at some other arguments used by the 119 Ministry to TRY and support their FALSE interpretation that Paul was teaching us to KEEP ALL the LAW of Moses given in the OLD TESTAMENT, we shall no doubt look at errors on the other extreme of not keeping ANY commandments as well. So then, let us pick up where they left off teaching that the CONTEXT is what determines the meaning of the verse for us.
See how context defines the verse for us? Col 2:20-23 -
Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to REGULATIONS— 21 “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” 22 which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. Paul again makes it clear that in Christ we died against the “principles of the world” and “human regulations.” So far, Paul has said nothing against the "law of God." In fact, THE WORD LAW IS NOT MENTIONED IN THE WHOLE BOOK OF COLOSSIANS. Consider reading that again. Amazing but true, yet teachers will try to convince you at every opportunity that the letter to the Colossians is all about abolishing God’s law instead of about abolishing commandments and doctrines from men. Many mainstream teachers place “God’s law” as the subject of Colossians 2 and the word law is not even mentioned once. You would expect it to be in there somewhere, but embarrassingly enough it is not. That is because Paul is teaching against false doctrines and commandments of the world/men, not teaching that any component of the "law of God" has been made void. In fact, if Paul was doing this, he would be contradicting himself and Y'shua (Ro. 3:31;7:22-23; Mat. 5:17-19) According to the obvious context, the Gnostics came in and started polluting the doctrine of the Colossians.
Please notice that I have EMPHASIZED two places in this argument presented by the 119 Ministries, the first being in verse 20 which says, do you subject yourselves to REGULATIONS, and the second place is in their EXPLANATION of the CONTEXT of Colossians 2:16, the verse in question, not teaching that any component of the "law of God" has been made void, This is where they make the CLAIM that Paul did NOT teach even one COMPONENT of the “LAW of GOD” that was made VOID in THEIR hopes to prove that Paul was talking about ONLY the laws and traditions of MEN. In other words, the enemy of our souls is trying to get the focus of our attention to be upon the DIFFERENCE between the LAW of GOD and the TRADITIONS of MEN in order to distract us from what Paul is truly teaching us here in Colossians 2:16, which is that we as Christians are not to let others judge us for NOT keeping the WHOLE law contained in ordinances. We have ALREADY seen that CIRCUMCISION in the FLESH was indeed a COMPONENT of the LAW of Almighty God and NOT some MAN-made tradition. Yes, CIRCUMCISION in the FLESH was a REGULATION that was once REQUIRED by Almighty God and therefore was NOT a MAN MADE TRADITION or CUSTOM of made up by the Jews whether they be some supposed Gnostic Jews or TRUE Jews. So once again, we have CLEARLY and PLAINLY seen that CIRCUMCISION of the FLESH made WITH HANDS written in the TORAH is most assuredly a COMPONENT of the LAW and COMMANDMENT of Almighty God Himself. AND we have ALSO clearly and plainly seen that this PART of the LAW of GOD was without a doubt made VOID, ABOLISHED, taken OUT of the WAY, SLAIN, BLOTTED OUT, and NAILED to the CROSS of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we are not only FORGIVEN of our past SINS, but we are also CIRCUMCISED with the NEW circumcision that is made WITHOUT hands, the circumcision of our heart through our FAITH in Jesus Christ, which was part of God's plan all along, written down for us in the Old Testament foretelling us of a New Covenant that is now written down in the NEW Testament. Thus God himself has made a CHANGE in the WAY that we now KEEP the law of CIRCUMCISION. Please read Deuteronomy 30:1-6, which is a prophecy concerning ISRAEL that is YET to be fulfilled at the second coming of Jesus and includes the 1000 year reign of Jesus.
Deuteronomy 30:1-6.
“And it shall come to pass, WHEN ALL THESE THINGS are come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD your God has driven you, 2. And shall return unto the LORD your God, and shall obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul; 3. That then the LORD your God will turn your captivity, and have compassion upon you, and will return and gather you from all the nations, whither the LORD your God has scattered you. 4. If any of you be driven out unto the out most parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD your God gather you, and from thence will he fetch you: 5. And the LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it, and he will do you good, and multiply you above your fathers. 6. And the LORD your God will circumcise your HEART, and the heart of your seed, to LOVE the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.”
Now let us consider verse 20 where I emphasized the phrase from the teachings of the 119 Ministries, do you subject yourselves to REGULATIONS, in order to point out that Paul was asking these Christians why they were subjecting themselves to REGULATIONS of TOUCH NOT, TASTE NOT, or HANDLE NOT. I am fully aware that those in the 119 Ministries make the CLAIM that Paul is speaking here of the commandments of MEN and therefore they are CLAIMING that what Paul is talking about here has nothing whatsoever to do with the law of God because the word “LAW” itself is NOT found ANYWHERE in this letter to the church of Colosse However, the CONTEXT of Colossians 2:16 ALSO includes Colossians 2:4-8, which teaches us that Paul is warning believers NOT to be deceived by ANY man. And then he follows up by giving us three categories of men, where no less than one of these categories can be the JEWS, who were indeed TRUE Jews that keep the law of GOD, and because these JEWS would not believe the GOSPEL that was being preached to them they used VAIN DECEIT to deceive Christians to keep the WHOLE law of God including being CIRCUMCISED in the FLESH in order to be saved. Another piece of evidence is that Paul often spoke of teaching the GOSPEL in VAIN being fearful that the JEWS would DECEIVE Christians to be brought under the BONDAGE of the KEEPING of the WHOLE LAW of Moses which was given to the Jews under the OLD COVENANT or the OLD Testament contained in ordinances UNTIL the NEW TESTAMENT was put into FORCE by the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ so that whosoever would BELIEVE in Jesus should be saved.
Here is Colossians 2:4-8, which says,
“And this I say, LEST (or for FEAR THAT) ANY MAN should beguile you with enticing words. 5. For though I am absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your FAITH IN Christ. 6. AS you have therefore RECEIVED Christ Jesus the Lord, so WALK you in him: 7. Rooted and built up in him, and established in the FAITH, AS you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. (In other words, did you receive Jesus BY FAITH or by the works of the LAW?) 8. Beware LEST (Or for FEAR THAT) ANY MAN spoils you through philosophy and VAIN DECEIT, after the tradition of men (Being one category of men), after the rudiments of the world (A second category), AND NOT after Christ. (Being the third category, which refers to the JEWS who through VAIN DECEIT beguiled believers in Jesus Christ NOT AFTER the teaching of Jesus Christ, but rather after the teaching of the LAW of GOD given to them in the OLD Testament) So then, the question is HOW did we RECEIVE Jesus Christ? Come on now my dear brothers in sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, did you RECEIVE the forgiveness of all your past sins BY FAITH in the gospel of Jesus Christ, OR were you saved by the LAW contained in ORDINANCES that was given under the OLD Testament in the TORAH, which we are CLEARLY and PLAINLY taught in the word of God was only added because of transgressions UNTIL the PROMISE of the SEED of Abraham, speaking of Jesus, be brought into the world? Please read Galatians chapter 3, which again clearly and plainly teaches us that we RECEIVED Jesus Christ BY FAITH, which AGREES with the entire NEW TESTAMENT that we are saved or reconciled to God by GRACE THROUGH FAITH and NOT by the WORKS of the LAW.
Galatians 3:1-29.
“O foolish Galatians, who has BEWITCHED you, that you should NOT OBEY THE TRUTH, before whose eyes (Or before your very own eyes) Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you? (In other words, you were WITNESSES of Jesus being crucified) 2. This only would I learn of you, RECEIVED you the Spirit BY the WORKS of the LAW, or BY the hearing of FAITH? 3. Are you so foolish? Having BEGUN in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the FLESH? (In other words, are you my dear brothers and sisters who have BEGUN your walk with the LORD by FAITH now become so FOOLISH as to now try and be made perfect by the WORKS of the LAW contained in ordinances? Again, it should be clear to all who have eyes to see and ears to hear that Paul is speaking only of the CEREMONIAL law contained in ordinances which were a SHADOW pointing to the TRUE who was prophesied to come and NOT the MORAL law of the NINE commandments of God that are repeated in the New Testament over and over again and again) 4. Have you suffered so many things in VAIN (Speaking of the many persecutions from the Jews that you have suffered for first BELIEVING in Jesus Christ to forgive you of all your sins, have you suffered all this persecution in VAIN or for no reason at all)? IF it is yet in VAIN. (Meaning it is not too late to confess your faults before God and come back to the TRUTH of the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ. Also, keep in mind that if Paul was TRULY teaching us as Christians to keep the WHOLE law of God, as the 119 Ministries FALSELY teaches, then there would have been NO PERSECUTION by the JEWS whether they were Gnostics Jews as the 119 Ministry CLAIMS or whether they were TRUE Jews because either way these JEWS were PERSECUTING Christians for NOT KEEPING the WHOLE law.) 5. He therefore, that ministers to you the Spirit, and works miracles among you, does he do it BY the WORKS of the LAW, or BY the hearing of FAITH? 6. Even as Abraham BELIEVED God, and it was accounted to him for RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7. Know you therefore that they which are of FAITH, the SAME are the children of Abraham. 8. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through FAITH, preached before the gospel (Meaning the GOOD NEWS of the coming MESSIAH from the SEED of Abraham. The Old Testament Scripture pointed to Jesus who is the GOOD NEWS) unto Abraham, saying, In you shall all nations be blessed. 9. So then they who are of FAITH are blessed with faithful Abraham. 10. For (Or because) as many as are of the works of the law are UNDER the CURSE: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. (The Bible teaches us that we are NOT UNDER the LAW but under GRACE) 11. But that NO man is justified by the LAW in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by FAITH. 12. And the law is NOT of FAITH: but, The man that does them shall live in them. 13. Christ has REDEEMED us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree: 14. That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the PROMISE of the Spirit through FAITH. 15. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it is but a man's covenant, yet if it is CONFIRMED, no man disannuls or adds thereto. 16. Now to Abraham and his SEED were the promises made. He says not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to your seed, which is Christ. 17. And this I say, that the COVENANT, that was CONFIRMED before of God IN Christ, (Speaking of the COVENANT of the PROMISE made by Almighty God himself to Abraham 430 years BEFORE the LAW was ever ADDED for the reason of transgression, UNTIL the SEED of Abraham, speaking of the MESSIAH Jesus Christ our Lord was brought forth into the world) the LAW, which was four hundred and thirty years after, CANNOT disannul, that it should make the PROMISE of NONE EFFECT. (In other words, the PROMISE which is by FAITH came FIRST, so therefore it overrides the LAW contained in ordinances, which was ADDED TEMPORARILY in order to KEEP the children of Israel from the accuser UNTIL the SEED or the MESSIAH was brought forth into the world) 18. For IF the inheritance is of the LAW, it is no more of PROMISE: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. 19. Wherefore then serve the LAW? It was ADDED because of transgressions, TILL the SEED should come to whom the PROMISE was made; (I do not see how the word of TRUTH can make it any plainer or clearer than this my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, who are being BEWITCHED by the 119 Ministry and the Hebrew Roots Movement to SERVE the WHOLE LAW of Moses, which was NEVER given to the Gentiles, but rather was given ONLY to Israel UNTIL the PROMISE of the SEED of Abraham, which CLEARLY is speaking of Jesus the MESSIAH, was brought into the world) and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 20. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. 21. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. (In other words, the LAW was not a bad thing, but it served its PURPOSE to KEEP Israel UNTIL the PROMISE of the MESSIAH was brought forth into the world. The law also serves as a SHADOW of things that were to come. The law was a SCHOOLMASTER that taught us about Jesus and the NEW TESTAMENT written in his blood) 22. But the Scripture has concluded ALL under sin, that (Or so that) the promise by FAITH of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. (In other words, Almighty God by his grace CONCLUDED ALL of mankind to be under sin so that he could show forth his GRACE by bringing into the world his OWN sacrifice for the sin of the world to be offered just ONE TIME, once and for all time, which would then be RECEIVED BY FAITH by WHOSOEVER chose to BELIEVE the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is NONE other name given among men whereby we must be saved. Salvation is received by FAITH and NOT by works of the law) 23. BUT BEFORE FAITH CAME (Speaking of the PROMISE of the SEED of Abraham referring the Jesus the MESSIAH), we were KEPT (meaning the sins of the Old Testament saints were COVERED) under the LAW, shut up unto the FAITH which should afterward be REVEALED. (Where our sins would be washed clean away, by this ONE TIME sacrifice that our Lord God HIMSELF provided for us through his Son Jesus, the LAMB slain from before the foundation of the world) 24. Wherefore (Or for this REASON then) the law was our SCHOOLMASTER to bring us UNTO Christ, that we might be justified by FAITH. 25. But AFTER that faith has come (Or AFTER Jesus died and rose again for the sins of the world), we are NO LONGER UNDER a schoolmaster. (Or we are NO LONGER UNDER the WHOLE LAW contained in ordinances, which WAS our schoolmaster UNTIL the MESSIAH came) 26. For you are all the children of God BY FAITH IN Christ Jesus. 27. For as many of you as having been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28. There is NEITHER Jew nor Greek (Meaning that a GENTILE BELIEVER does NOT become a JEW, to live as the Jews lived under the OLD Testament law contained in ordinances when he or she accepts Jesus as their savior), there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29. And if you are Christ's, then are you Abraham's SEED, and heirs according to the PROMISE.”
Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, that AFTER Jesus the MESSIAH came and died for the sins of the world, then those who used to live UNDER the LAW of Moses were FREED from being UNDER the WHOLE LAW of God because Almighty God himself FULFILLED his PROMISE under the FIRST COVENANT that he made with Abraham by bringing forth the PROMISE of the SEED into the world to be the MESSIAH, which was his Son, Jesus. Then, AFTER Jesus died and rose from the dead for the sins of the world, Almighty God put into FORCE the NEW TESTAMENT or the NEW COVENANT whereby God's people are NOW saved by GRACE THROUGH FAITH IN Jesus Christ. This was the GOSPEL or the GOODS NEWS from the very beginning given by PROMISE from Almighty God to mankind that from the SEED of the woman, the head of the ENEMY of God, would be crushed. Jesus CRUSHED the serpents head on the cross being made a curse for us and therefore REDEEMED mankind from the curse of the LAW. Now some of you may be saying, I see what you are saying brother Mark, but WHY did Jesus and his disciples teach us to KEEP the COMMANDMENTS of God if we are NO LONGER UNDER the LAW? This is a very valid question, which some in the mainstream church answer by simply telling us that we do not keep the commandments of God so that we can be saved, or we do not keep the commandments of God to KEEP or MAINTAIN our salvation, but rather we keep the commandments of God only out of love and a thankful heart toward God for saving us by his Son Jesus through faith. Now for some, this answer seems to be satisfactory. However, for others like myself, who have clearly and very plainly seen in the word of TRUTH that IF a believer in Jesus Christ does NOT KEEP the commandments of Almighty God and goes back into their old lifestyle of sin, and they should die while living in sin, then they will NOT be given ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come. So then, HOW do we reconciled the TRUTH of the GOSPEL that we are SAVED by GRACE THROUGH FAITH and NOT BY WORKS lest any man should BOAST along with the TRUTH of the GOSPEL that ALSO clearly teaches us that we MUST, WITHOUT FAIL, KEEP the COMMANDMENTS of Almighty God in order to be given the RIGHT to EAT of the TREE of LIFE in the world to come? Please read Revelation 22:14,15, which clearly and plainly teaches us that we must KEEP the COMMANDMENTS of Almighty God in order to have the RIGHT to eat of the tree of LIFE.
Revelation 22:14,15.
“Blessed are THEY that DO his commandments, (WHY? Why are ONLY those that KEEP or DO the commandments of God under the NEW COVENANT written in the NEW TESTAMENT called BLESSED?) THAT (Or because or in order that) THEY (Speaking of ONLY those who are KEEPING the COMMANDMENTS of Almighty God) may have RIGHT to the tree of LIFE (Speaking of being found worthy to be given the RIGHT to receive ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come) and may ENTER in through the gates into the city. (You see when the word of God speaks about the KINGDOM of God there is more than just one meaning for this word “kingdom”. We do not ACTUALLY ENTER INTO the kingdom of God until the second coming of Jesus when FAITHFUL believers in Jesus Christ, who have ENDURED unto the END, are rewarded with ETERNAL LIFE.) 15. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whore mongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever LOVES and MAKES a LIE.”
You see, some Christians truly LOVE God and His Son Jesus, but at the same time they MALE a LIE by teaching FALSE doctrine. Please read the study called Dd-25. What does REVELATION 22:14 TRULY Mean? So then, there SEEMS to be a CONTRADICTION between being SAVED by grace through FAITH and NOT by WORKS lest any man should BOAST and being SAVED by KEEPING the COMMANDMENTS of God. So, HOW then can we reconcile this matter that ONLY SEEMS to be a contradiction? The first thing you must understand is that since we now CLEARLY understand that the LAW contained in ORDINANCES was ABOLISHED, taken OUT of the WAY, BLOTTED OUT and NAILED to the CROSS of our Lord Jesus Christ where we are NO LONGER UNDER the LAW that is contained in ORDINANCES does NOT mean that we are no longer under the MORAL COMMANDMENTS of God, as in, no less than nine of the ten commandments of God, which I will explain later in another study. But for now, I want you to see that there is a DIFFERENCE between the LAW of Moses contained in some 613 ORDINANCES and the COMMANDMENTS of Almighty God. So YES, the New Testament does in fact teach us that AFTER we are SAVED, as in, being brought into a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with Almighty God by having ALL of our PAST sins FORGIVE, we are to KEEP the COMMANDMENTS of God that are summed up into TWO simple easy to remember commandments, which are to LOVE God and to LOVE your neighbor as yourself. But if you simply say that you love God and your WALK says you do NOT LOVE your brother, then you are a LIAR and the SPIRIT of God is NOT IN you and you are NONE of his. So then, the SIMPLEST way that I can teach the GOSPEL to you is to show you that salvation is obtained basically in TWO different steps, which is receiving the BEGINNING of our salvation, which is receiving the forgiveness of all our past sins to be saved or placed back into a right relationship with Almighty God. And then, receiving the END of our salvation which is our obtaining eternal life in the world to come.
Step 1.
You first realize you need to be saved. Then you come to the knowledge of the TRUTH that Jesus died for your sins. And then you ACCEPT and confess that GOOD NEWS that you have been FORGIVEN of ALL your PAST sins, in order for you to be brought into a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with Almighty God. This is called being saved, being born-again, or becoming a new creation created in Jesus Christ so that God can now put his Holy Spirit WITHIN you to EMPOWER you to CONTINUE IN Jesus Christ. This is the first step of salvation. So simply put, we are saved to do good works knowing that the GOOD WORKS of righteousness that you do are NOT being done in your OWN strength, lest there be BOASTING. Now, this FIRST step of salvation is completely by the grace of Almighty God extended to all of mankind so that WHOSOEVER BELIEVES this GOOD NEWS of God's FREE GIFT of righteousness to be FORGIVEN of ALL your sins. In other words, there is absolutely nothing anyone can DO to EARN this free gift of salvation.
Step 2.
After you have received the BEGINNING of your FAITH IN Jesus Christ, then comes to this second step of CONTINUING in your FAITH unto the END in order to receive the END of your salvation, which is your actually obtaining your reward of ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come. This second step is where the KEEPING of the COMMANDMENTS of God comes into the TRUTH of the GOSPEL as well. In other words, we have been made FREE from the bondage of sin. And that means that we can live our lives free of committing sin. Please read the study F-12. How YOU can live YOUR LIFE FREE from SIN! Remember that in the first step of salvation you were made CLEAN so that the Holy Spirit of Almighty God can now DWELL IN you not only to lead and guide you into all truth but also to EMPOWER you to OVERCOME sin. In other words, the WORKS of RIGHTEOUSNESS that were ORDAINED by Almighty God for you to DO are NOT being done through your OWN strength, otherwise, there would be room for BOASTING. But rather all the WORKS of RIGHTEOUSNESS, you do, are done THROUGH the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells IN you, as you BELIEVE the PROMISES in God's word like RESIST the Devil and he WILL FLEE from you, or God will NOT allow you to be tempted ABOVE that which you are ABLE to OVERCOME. This is HOW the JUST, those of us who have been JUSTIFIED by FAITH, shall ALSO LIVE by FAITH. In other words, you must BELIEVE that you can LIVE WITHOUT SIN before you will ever be able to overcome sin in your life. And we go from FAITH to FAITH, or from BELIEVING God's PROMISES that if we RESIST the Devil, then the Devil WILL, WITHOUT FAIL, FLEE from us to CONTINUING to BELIEVE God's promises unto the END, which is our OBTAINING what we are believing to RECEIVE. In this case, we are speaking about ETERNAL LIFE, but if we were talking about the PROMISES in God's word concerning HEALING, then that which you BELIEVE to RECEIVE would be HEALING. You see the word “SAVE” in the Greek means not only save, but also to be HEALED, to be rescued, to be protected, to be made whole, and to be brought into RIGHT RELATIONSHIP, which is what happens the moment we accept Jesus as our savior. BUT if we do not obey the Holy Spirit to maintain or keep this RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with Almighty God unto the END, then we will NOT be found to be those good and FAITHFUL servants that will be asked to ENTER INTO the joy of the Lord. There is MORE to the GOSPEL of our salvation that just merely accepting Jesus as our savior. We must CONTINUE in our FAITH unto the END. And this does NOT mean keeping the WHOLE law contained in ORDINANCES written in the OLD Testament, because SOME of the LAW has indeed been ABOLISHED by the cross of Jesus. Now I am not going to go into a lot of detail on how to be saved, what salvation means, what the Bible means by faith, what the Bible means by grace, and the difference between the LAW and doing GOOD WORKS, because I already have in-depth studies on each of these topics posted on my website at AmatterOfTruth.com to which I will post links to each of these studies at the end of this study. But for now, I would like to cover a few more interpretations of the 119 Ministries and the Hebrew Roots Movement to show you, the reader, how they have not compared their own personal interpretations, that they have concluded, with the rest of God's word. One of the biggest stumbling blocks to those who have been deceived by the teachings of 119 Ministries is Matthew 5:17,18, where the question is raised, Has the LAW been ABOLISHED or FULFILLED by the death and resurrection of Jesus? Please notice that they give you a choice that it MUST be ONE or the OTHER and that it CANNOT be BOTH. This kind of deception is used by the enemy in nearly every case. Please remember that people are NOT our enemy. We have but ONE enemy, Satan, the Devil, who DECEIVES people into believing that there are just TWO options so therefore you must choose ONE of these TWO options that are presented to you. Here is the opening argument that is given by the 119 Ministries to try and support their teaching that not even one letter or pen stroke of the LAW has been ABOLISHED.
ABOLISH or FULFILL
Matthew 5:17-18 17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
So then....What does ''abolish bring'' about? Now....What does ''fulfill'' bring about"? Take note that Jesus came to do one and NOT the other. They cannot mean the same thing. However, we are informed by church leaders that they DO bring about the same result. Think about it. According to the American Heritage Dictionary ''abolish'' means-- ''To do away with; put an end to.'' And yet what are we told ''fulfill'' means? The definition given to us is the same ''To do away with; put an end to".
Again, this is a very valid question and I agree that from just a surface reading of this passage of Scripture it does APPEAR that Jesus is saying that he came to do ONE and NOT the other, but please keep in mind that this ONE verse in the Bible and NOT the WHOLE word of God and therefore it must be INTERPRETED in the LIGHT of the REST of God's word. Now again those at the 119 Ministries and the Hebrew Roots Movement paint this picture in your mind that their INTERPRETATION is the ONLY WAY that this verse can be interpreted. In other words, they themselves were DECEIVED by the enemy into INCORRECTLY believing that there are only TWO choices given in this verse when in TRUTH there are NO choices being given to us in Matthew 5:17,18. Always remember that ANY verse, when taken OUT of the CONTEXT and viewed ALONE and APART from the WHOLE word of God, may SEEM to be saying something that it is NOT TRULY saying. Therefore, we must COMPARE the INTERPRETATION that is concluded with OTHER passages of Scripture to make absolutely sure there are NO CONTRADICTIONS. But before we compare Scripture with Scripture, let us take a closer look at the Greek word that is translated as ”FULFILL” here in Matthew 5:17. The Greek word is “PLEROO”, which means to fulfill, to make full, to be filled, to COMPLETE that is often used as in the FULFILLMENT of the Old Testament Scripture. This Greek word “PLEROO”' also means to ACCOMPLISH, to SATISFY, to EXECUTE, to FINISH and to VERIFY. Now we cannot just pick whatever definition that we want and dogmatically say that this is what this particular verse means. We must compare whatever interpretation we conclude to the REST of God's word to see if it AGREES with the WHOLE word of God. You see, if any interpretation, of any verse of Scripture, CONTRADICTS another part of God's word, then that INTERPRETATION must be rejected as being an INCORRECT interpretation and considered to be FALSE teaching. So before we draw any conclusions, let us read Matthew 5:17,18 from the King James Version.
Matthew 5:17,18.
“Think not that I am come to DESTROY the law, or the prophets: I am not come to DESTROY, but to fulfill. 18. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
The word translated as “DESTROY” here comes from the Greek word “KATALYO”, which means throw down, to abolish, to destroy. This Greek word “KATALYO” also means to destroy UTTERLY, to overthrow COMPLETELY. In other words, this Greek word that is translated as “DESTROY” in the King James Version and as “ABOLISH” in the New International Version carries with it the meaning that Jesus did not come to COMPLETELY ABOLISH the law.
So then, Matthew 5:17,18 should have been translated as follows.
“Think not that I am come to UTTERLY DESTROY or to COMPLETELY ABOLISH the law, or the prophets: I am not come to DESTROY, but to fulfill. 18. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
Now some of you may argue that I am changing God's word to make it say what I want it to say, but in TRUTH I am just pointing out to you, the reader, the seeker of the TRUTH, that in the original language these Greek words sometimes have many different meanings and the English translation that we read is just that, a TRANSLATION. In other words, this verse could have just as easily been translated as UTTERLY destroy or COMPLETELY abolish, which would then AGREE with the rest of God's word without trying to manipulate, twist or change many other CLEAR, PLAIN and SIMPLE passages of Scripture to get them to agree with your OWN personal translation of Matthew 5:17,18. Let me explain what I mean by this. Please keep in mind that Galatians 3:19 teaches us that the LAW was ADDED because of transgression UNTIL the PROMISE of the MESSIAH be FULFILLED, which teaches us that some CHANGES in the LAW were without fail and indeed made AT the FIRST coming of Jesus at his DEATH and resurrection. In other words, Jesus did indeed ABOLISH SOME of the LAW of GOD written in the OLD TESTAMENT. One part of the LAW of GOD that was INDEED ABOLISH and FULFILLED was the OFFERING of SACRIFICES for sins, which no one denies. But there were OTHER parts of the OLD covenant law of God that had been ABOLISHED as well by the cross, but some Christians were being DECEIVED to keep for FEAR of the JEWS.
Galatians 3:19.
“Wherefore, (Or for what REASON) then SERVE the LAW? It was ADDED because of transgressions, TILL the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.”
So then, some part or some aspect of the law CHANGED in some way at the death and resurrection of Jesus. Otherwise, Jesus died in VAIN. In other words, Jesus did not come to COMPLETELY abolish the LAW. BUT rather the TRUTH of the matter is that some part of the LAW was INDEED ABOLISHED at the CROSS of Jesus. One thing that we can all agree on is that the REASON that Jesus came was to FULFILL the law AND the PROPHETS. In other words, Jesus spoke of his coming was to FULFILL not ONLY the LAW but ALSO that he came to FULFILL the PROPHETS. In other words, Jesus is talking about HIMSELF being PROPHESIED through different rituals of the LAW as being TYPES and SHADOWS of his COMING as well as being spoken of by the prophets. Remember Jesus told the Jews that they sought eternal life in the Scriptures and the Scriptures spoke of HIM. Jesus was trying to get the Jews to see that he was that man that the SCRIPTURES themselves foretold that would come to be the savior. The prophets ALSO foretold that God was going to establish a NEW COVENANT with his people Israel, which God INITIATED with Jesus, but then when Israel REJECTED this NEW covenant, then God TURNED to a people who were NOT a people of God, in order to provoke his people Israel to jealousy. This was ALSO prophesied in the SCRIPTURES. So then, we see a lot of CHANGES in the way God is dealing with not only his chosen people Israel but also the rest of mankind, the GENTILE, who once were NOT under the LAW contained in ORDINANCES but rather were under the law of their CONSCIENCE. Now I do agree with one of the arguments used by the 119 Ministries that ALL has not yet been FULFILLED. However, I do NOT agree with their CONCLUSION that they draw and teach that ALL the LAW written in the Old Testament is still in FORCE. And, therefore, we must KEEP the Law of Mose. That interpretation totally CONTRADICTS Acts 15:19,24. But rather, I believe that Jesus FULFILLED different PROPHECIES all through his life during his FIRST coming and that Jesus will FULFILL ALL the prophecies concerning him when he comes again to reign for 1000 years. In other words, ALL the PROPHETS will be FULFILLED before heaven and earth pass away, but God's WORD shall never pass away. NOT God's LAW will never pass away, but rather God's WORD shall never pass away. I personally do not believe that there will be any need for any law in the NEW heaven and the NEW earth because there will be NO enemy of God, but I do believe that God's WORD shall never pass away. This brings us to yet another ERROR that is made by the 119 Ministries and the Hebrew Roots Movement. They INCORRECTLY substitute Jesus being called the Word of God, to being the WRITTEN WORD of God. And then INCORRECTLY substitute the WORD of God for being the LAW of God. And then INCORRECTLY substitute the LAW of God for ALL the LAW contained in ORDINANCES. And then FALSELY conclude that to FOLLOW Jesus means the follow and KEEP the WHOLE LAW written in the OLD TESTAMENT. In other words, they do not understand the DIFFERENCE between the COMMANDMENTS of God and the LAW of Moses contained in some 613 ORDINANCES, which was ADDED because of transgressions UNTIL the promise of the MESSIAH was FULFILLED. This is where some Christians, like the 119 Ministries and the Hebrew Roots Movement, get into ERROR, because they FALSELY INTERPRET a verse that only SEEMS to support what they believe and then they FOCUS all their attention on this ONE verse while trying to make all these other clear and plain passages of Scripture FIT their own private interpretation. You see trying to CHANGE the clear meaning of these many other passages of Scripture to fit their own INTERPRETATION of Matthew 5:17,18 is the same as IGNORING these other passages of Scripture that CONTRADICT their own personal interpretation of Matthew 5:17.18, which they try to insist means ONE or the OTHER and cannot mean BOTH, therefore you must choose, between either Jesus came to ABOLISH the law OR Jesus came to FULFILL the law. But instead of going back and changing the way they view or understand Matthew 15:17,18, they TRY to CHANGE the meanings of all the other CLEAR, PLAIN, and SIMPLE to understand verses that CONTRADICT their INTERPRETATION of Matthew 5:17,18 that it CANNOT be BOTH ways. However, the TRUTH of the matter is that Jesus did indeed come to do BOTH. Jesus did not come to abolish COMPLETELY the WHOLE law of God but Jesus did come to ABOLISH PART of the law of God and to FULFILL part of the prophets at his FIRST coming. Now we all should agree that when Jesus FULFILLED the law and the prophets at his crucifixion that he did NOT fulfill ALL of what the prophets have foretold. Also, we should all agree that when Jesus came TO fulfill the law, he was speaking of KEEPING the law and thus SATISFYING the law in the eyes of Almighty God the Father. In other words, the LIFE of Jesus ACCOMPLISHED the law, his LIFE also VERIFIED the law, and his LIFE also ESTABLISHED the law in that Jesus did ALL the WILL of Almighty God the Father. But it also goes deeper than this. Jesus fulfilled that law also in that these SHADOWS of the law that were kept under the OLD Testament to lead us TO Jesus were FULFILLED when a person BELIEVES that Jesus is their SAVIOR. So then, TOGETHER both the LIFE and the DEATH of Jesus COMPLETED the law and the prophets, but not ALL the PROPHETS. In somewhat the same way that BOTH the LIFE and DEATH of Jesus COMPLETED the LAW, but Jesus did NOT come to COMPLETELY ABOLISH or UTTERLY DESTROY the WHOLE law. What I mean by this is Almighty God did AWAY with the FORMER way that he forgave his people of their sins and God put into FORCE a NEW WAY for the sins of his people to be forgiven. In other words, there where some CHANGES made at the cross concerning God's LAW, which does NOT mean that God CHANGED or that God CHANGED his MIND, because God told us that this is what he was going to do all along. But what were these CHANGES that were made, which were NOT really and truly changes, but were part of God's plan all along? What part of the LAW was ABOLISHED and what part of the law remained in force? The Law of Moses contained in some 613 ORDINANCES was ABOLISHED just like Ephesians 2:11-20 clearly and plainly teaches us.
Ephesians 2:11-20.
“Wherefore remember, that you being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision BY that which is called the Circumcision in the FLESH made BY HANDS; 12. That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13. But NOW IN Christ Jesus, you who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. (In other words, it is NOW BY our FAITH IN Jesus Christ that we receive the SIGN of circumcision to be in a covenant relationship with God. Jesus is our circumcision) 14. For he is our PEACE, who has made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15. Having ABOLISHED in his flesh the ENMITY, EVEN the LAW of commandments contained in ORDINANCES; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making PEACE; 16. And that he might reconcile BOTH unto God in one body by the cross, having SLAIN the ENMITY (Which is the LAW contained in ORDINANCES) thereby: 17. And came and PREACHED PEACE to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. (This means that God no longer accepts the OLD Covenant sign of circumcision of the flesh as the sign of being in covenant relationship with him. Yes, there was a short time of a transition period that ENDED when the temple animal sacrifices ended. So then, the ONLY way to the Father NOW is through his Son Jesus Christ) 18. For through him we BOTH have the ACCESS by one Spirit unto the Father. 19. Now, therefore, you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the HOUSEHOLD of God; 20. And are built upon the FOUNDATION of the Apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone;”
The word “ENMITY” means the hatred of something that opposes or is AGAINST. Please read verse 15 again.
Ephesians 2:15.
“15. Having ABOLISHED in his flesh the ENMITY, EVEN the LAW of commandments contained in ORDINANCES; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making PEACE;”
So do NOT let anyone ever DECEIVE you by their OWN PERSONAL interpretation of Colossians 2:14 that the handwriting of ORDINANCES that was against us that was nailed to the cross and taken out of the way was the written record of our sins. Scripture will always correctly interpret Scripture if we allow the word of truth to speak to us. And Ephesians 2:15 interprets Colossians 2:14 for us. Therefore, the true sound Biblical meaning of Colossians 2:14 is that the LAW contained in ORDINANCES was NAILED to the cross and taking out of the way. So then, Jesus came at his FIRST coming to ABOLISH in his flesh the ENMITY or that hated thing that OPPOSES us or is AGAINST us, which IS the LAW of commandments contained in ORDINANCES. This is the CLEAR, PLAIN, and SIMPLE word of God with NO NEED of one’s own personal INTERPRETATION. There should be NO doubt that WHAT was ABOLISHED in the flesh of Jesus was this ENMITY, or this thing that was AGAINST us, which we are CLEARLY and PLAINLY told IS the LAW of commandments CONTAINED in ORDINANCES. And this AGREES with Matthew 5:17,18 which says, in the original Greek, that Jesus did not come to “KATALYO”, which means to destroy UTTERLY, to overthrow COMPLETELY. In other words, Jesus did NOT come to UTTERLY DESTROY or to COMPLETELY ABOLISH the WHOLE law of God. But RATHER, Jesus came to ABOLISH, in his FLESH, the LAW that was contained in ORDINANCES meaning the 613 ORDINANCES in the Law of MOSES and thus leaving the COMMANDMENTS of God still being in force. But again ONLY nine of these Ten Commandments are without a doubt repeated in the NEW Testament. And again this is yet another study which is coming soon. But for now, it should be CLEARLY understood by EVERY Christian that the ORDINANCE that requires ANIMAL SACRIFICE has been ABOLISHED because it was FULFILLED in the flesh of Jesus. Therefore, at the SAME time, the ORDINANCE of the FEAST of the PASSOVER was ALSO ABOLISHED because Jesus FULFILLED the FEAST of the Passover in his flesh and this SHADOW of things to come has served its purpose, which was to lead us to Jesus. CLEARLY, Jesus established and put into force a NEW TESTAMENT or a NEW COVENANT because Jesus FULFILLED in his flesh, specifically speaking of his DEATH, Jesus fulfilled the FIRST COVENANT that Almighty God made to Abraham 430 years BEFORE the LAW ever came into existence. Again, it should also be clear to Christians that NONE of the dietary laws contained in ORDINANCES are REPEATED or taught in any way to be kept in the NEW Testament, but we do see many places where things like ADULTERY, LYING, STEALING and the LUST of the flesh are REPEATED from the Old Testament and taught NOT to be done, which agrees with the COMMANDMENTS of God still being applicable in the church today. In other words, no less than nine of the ten commandments of God are specifically REPEATED and TAUGHT in the NEW TESTAMENT, as in, we as Christians are to KEEP, in order to obtain ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come. But again, we do NOT keep even the smallest command in our OWN strength, lest there be BOASTING. So YES, I totally agree that we are to KEEP the COMMANDMENTS of God which I also want to point out that Jesus summed up into two simple easy to remember, not GRIEVOUS to bear, commandments that are FULFILLED in ONE WORD. LOVE One of the biggest things Jesus fought against the scribes and the Pharisees was that they were HYPOCRITES, because they TAUGHT the LAW, but they did NOT KEEP the LAW. And even those who kept a good deal of the law, BOASTED about their OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS. Jesus came to make some CHANGES in the law and the WAY in which we are to KEEP the COMMANDMENTS of God. First of all, Jesus ABOLISHED in his FLESH, his DEATH on the cross, the LAW that was contained in ORDINANCES. And that means that the word “COMMANDMENTS” in the New Testament does NOT always mean the Law of Moses. Almighty God the Father put HIS words or his commandment in the mouth of his Son Jesus. So in truth, Revelation 22:14,15 means the keeping of the NEW COVENANT written in the New Testament and NOT the keeping of the Law of Moses contained in ordinances that were nailed to the cross and taken out of the way. This is why Paul teaches us NOT to let the JEWS judge us in what we EAT or for NOT KEEPING the FEAST days, or for NOT KEEPING the SABBATH days.
Please read Colossians 2:16,17 again, which says,
“Let no man, therefore, judge you in MEAT, or in drink, (Speaking NOT in judging you for KEEPING the dietary laws contained in ORDINANCES that were given to the JEWS, but rather let no man judge you for NOT keeping the laws contained in ordinances forbidding the eating of certain foods.) or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon (Speaking NOT of KEEPING the FEAST DAYS, but rather let no man judge you in NOT keeping the feast days which were contained in ordinances), or of the sabbath days:(Which spoke of our REST that was to come being found IN Jesus Christ) 15. Which are a SHADOW of things to come; BUT the BODY is OF Christ.”
Now the 119 Ministries in their ATTEMPT to CHANGE what this verse is truly saying to be INTERPRETED to what they WANT it to say they place great emphasis on verse 18 and FALSELY say that the phrase “Which ARE a SHADOW of things TO come” means a FUTURE FULFILLMENT. They emphasize that the word “ARE” is present tense. And they interpret this as showing that these things ARE YET TO COME in the future. This is just one of the many ways that the 119 Ministries TWIST the Scriptures to TRY and make them agree with their own private interpretation. Let me give you a CLEAR, PLAIN, and very SIMPLE example of how a verb can be in the PRESENT tense and yet ALREADY be FULFILLED. Please read Romans 5:14 where we all KNOW that Jesus DIED for our sins and is not still yet in the FUTURE to be FULFILLED.
Romans 5:14.
“Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who (Speaking of Adam) IS (PRESENT tense) the FIGURE (Or who IS the SHADOW) of him (Speaking of Jesus) that was TO come.”
Again, I totally agree that not ALL things have indeed been fulfilled at the first coming of Jesus. But this does NOT mean that NOTHING has been fulfilled or accomplished at the first coming of Jesus. Remember that Jesus said that he came not to “KATALYO” the LAW but to FULFILL the LAW, which means to destroy UTTERLY, to overthrow COMPLETELY the WHOLE LAW, but rather came to FULFILL the prophecies to establish a NEW TESTAMENT, which would INCLUDE the GENTILES. In other words, Jesus did NOT come to UTTERLY DESTROY or to COMPLETELY ABOLISH the WHOLE law of God, but to make that which REMAINED in force easier to accomplish, because we now have the very selfsame Holy Spirit that dwelt in Jesus dwelling IN us who is doing the works just as he did in Jesus. The TRUTH of the WHOLE matter is that Jesus and his disciples taught us that, we as believers in Jesus Christ, FULFILL or KEEP ALL the LAW of God when we are walking in LOVE, one toward another and NOT some future fulfillment that is yet to come. Yes, there are some SHADOWS that have not been technically fulfilled as yet, but in TRUTH; they have been fulfilled in that we as Christians, who are IN Jesus Christ, have been made known to what these SHADOWS are POINTING TOWARDS. The most important thing is that we walk in LOVE one toward another and in doing so we FULFILL the LAW of God. Please read Matthew 7:12, which teaches us that the heart of the whole LAW and the PROPHETS is to teach us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us.
Matthew 7:12.
“Therefore all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them: FOR (Or because) THIS is the law and the prophets.”
And THIS law and the prophets will not pass away EVER, for God is LOVE! Wherefore then, do you my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ SERVE the law contained in ORDINANCES? It was ADDED to the covenant of PROMISE because of transgressions, UNTIL the seed should come to whom the promise was made, which seed is speaking of Jesus who came to FULFILL, in his FLESH when he died on the cross. NAILING the ORDINANCES that were AGAINST us and thus put into force a NEW TESTAMENT or a NEW and BETTER COVENANT that is established on BETTER PROMISES.
Please read Hebrews 8:6-13.
“But now has he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a BETTER COVENANT, which was established upon BETTER PROMISES. 7. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8. For finding fault with THEM (Speaking of ISRAEL who did NOT KEEP the COVENANT nor the LAW of Moses that was ADDED because they transgressed the covenant God made with Abraham. And remember the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES was ADDED only UNTIL the MESSIAH came), he says, Behold, the days come, says the Lord, when I will make a NEW COVENANT with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: (The house of Judah is a SHADOW pointing to the Gentile church. For you see, without the NEW Covenant there would be NO Gentile church. The ONLY way to eternal life is by becoming a new creation created in Jesus Christ. The old covenant is no longer accepted by God to forgive sins. The New Covenant is) 9. NOT according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, says the Lord. (Now, Almighty God did his part to bring in this NEW covenant with his people Israel. BUT many of the JEWS did NOT regard this NEW COVENANT either, so God turned to a people that was not his people, the GENTILES, and offered us this so great a salvation UNTIL the FULNESS of the Gentiles be come in. Meaning, until all that will be saved are saved and the WICKEDNESS has come to FULL where NO NOT ONE WICKED person will SEEK the Lord. Then God will once again turn back to the house of Israel and Judah and pour out his Spirit upon them and write his law upon their hearts.) 10. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days (Speaking of both the first and second comings of Jesus, where SOME of the Jews will accept Jesus at his first coming and then at the second coming those people of the house of Israel who are alive at his coming will recognize Jesus as their Messiah), says the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11. And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. (Referring to the 1000 year reign of Jesus) 12. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 13. In that he says, A NEW COVENANT, he has made the FIRST OLD. Now that which decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away.”
Now those in the 119 Ministry and the Hebrew Roots Movement like to focus their attention on verse 13. They emphasize that it says that the old covenant is READY to vanish away. And they interpret this to mean that the Old Covenant has NOT YET vanished away. But the truth of the matter is that the Old Covenant has indeed COMPLETELY vanished away the very moment that the animal sacrifices ENDED at the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. This does NOT mean that God has turned his back on his chosen people, Israel. So then, in PART, ISRAEL is still under the OLD covenant being KEPT by the LAW until the day that they RECOGNIZE and ACCEPT Jesus as their MESSIAH. In other words, God has not totally abandoned his people Israel but has prophesied that he will a SECOND time come to them. But for those of US, who ALREADY BELIEVE IN Jesus as our MESSIAH, at his FIRST coming, the LAW that was ADDED for transgressions contained in ORDINANCES, has been ABOLISHED, but the MORAL COMMANDMENTS of God are still in force for the church to keep. One of the ERRORS of the 119 Ministries and the Hebrew Roots Movement is that they FALSELY teach that when a person accepts Jesus as their savior that they are grafted into the natural olive tree, which they say means the church, literally becomes ISRAEL. In other words, they incorrectly teach that a believer in Jesus Christ is saved to become a JEW or to LIVE as a JEW and therefore must follow and obey ALL the LAW of Moses contained in ORDINANCES. The TRUTH of the matter the church is NOT ISRAEL and we are not saved to become JEWS to live after the manner of the JEWS. We do NOT need to EAT like the Jews. We do NOT need to DRESS like the Jews. We do NOT need to keep the FEAST days like the Jews. We do NOT need to KEEP ALL the LAW of Moses contained in ORDINANCES that was given ONLY to the children of ISRAEL under the OLD COVENANT. In fact, the JEWS do not need to KEEP the law anymore either. For you see, Jesus came to establish a NEW and BETTER covenant with ISRAEL, and, therefore, all they need to do is BELIEVE that Jesus DIED for their sins to become GRAFTED into the household of God. The gospel is to the Jews FIRST and then to the Gentiles. Can you not see that every last Jew was CUT OFF of the natural olive tree? Can you not see that the ONLY WAY to be graft back into the ROOT of the olive tree is BY FAITH in Jesus Christ to become a NEW CREATION of God? The church is NOT Israel! We are NOT grafted into ISRAEL. But rather Israel is grafted into the CHURCH! Please read the studies Dd-60. ARE CHRISTIANS GRAFTED INTO ISRAEL? and Dd-86. ARE CHRISTIANS THE SONS OF ISRAEL? Now, I will say that I personally do not believe that it is a SIN if a Christian wants to DRESS like a JEW to see what their culture is like, but Almighty God does not COMMAND us to DRESS like a JEW in order to obtain ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come. I also do not believe that a true believer in Jesus Christ should dress like a Jew THINKING that they are PLEASING God. And I will also say that I personally do not believe that it is a sin for a Christian to EAT like a JEW, as in, to follow the dietary law as instructions to eating a good healthy diet, but the word of TRUTH does not dogmatically teach that we must, without fail, follow the dietary laws of the JEWS in order to obtain ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come. In fact, the NEW Testament teaches us that even meat offered to IDOLS is permissible to eat. Also, it is not a sin to worship God on Saturday, but the New Testament does not teach us that we must without fail worship God ONLY on Saturday like the Jews, as opposed to worshiping God on Sunday, the Lord's Day, in order to receive eternal life in the world to come. The word of God simply says that we have six days to do our work and on the seventh day we shall rest and commit this one day of the week to the Lord. But even resting one day a week is NOT a commandment under the New Covenant written in the New Testament. So to ME, ANY day of the week will do as a day of rest. BUT we are not COMMANDED that we MUST rest one day every week under the New Covenant. Some Christians get into such bondage over this SABBATH day of REST and they become so FEARFUL that some even quit their job for fear of losing their salvation by their wrong thinking that they are breaking one of God's commandments. If your job requires you to work on BOTH Saturday and Sunday, then use one of your days off to be set aside for the Lord and a day of REST. Please read the studies called Dd-21. SABBATH-Saturday, Sunday, or NEITHER! and Dd-14. JESUS is the LORD OF THE SABBATH! for a deeper understanding that the SABBATH was made FOR man and NOT that MAN was made FOR the Sabbath. In fact, this is the ONE commandment out of the Ten Commandments that are not specifically repeated and taught to keep in the NEW Testament. Again, this is another study in and of itself. The studies that I suggest within another study are related to that study. Those suggested studies go more in-depth in that specific area of the same topic under investigation to learn the sound Biblical truth concerning that subject. And the broad subject under discussion in this study is to answer the question of whether or not the Hebrew Roots Movement is Biblical. For all the studies that I have on this subject please see the list under the heading >>>Dd-0. What is the TRUE Sabbath?<<< But for now, let us continue with the study at hand, the errors of interpretation made by the 119 Ministries. And I suppose that it is not a sin to occasionally keep a feast day such as the Passover to better understand the Jewish customs and traditions, but again we as Christians who already BELIEVE that Jesus is our Messiah being OUR PASSOVER are not commanded to keep the feast days, because we already have come to the knowledge of the TRUTH to KNOW what these feast days were and are yet POINTING towards. They were given as SHADOWS, TYPES, or FIGURES of the TRUE. In other words, the feast days and much of the ritualism of the law contained in ordinances were PROPHETIC things POINTING to Jesus as being the MESSIAH. Also, please keep in mind that all through the New Testament, we see that the disciples of Jesus and the early church were heavily PERSECUTED because they WOULD NOT SUBMIT themselves to be brought back under the BONDAGE of the LAW of Moses contained in some 613 ORDINANCES. But rather FOLLOWED the TEACHINGS of Jesus to keep the TEN COMMANDMENTS with the emphasis on LOVING our brothers and sisters even as we LOVE ourselves for THIS is the LAW and the PROPHETS that shall never pass away, because God is LOVE. I say TEN because everyone knows what is meant by the ten commandments of God, but in TRUTH I, myself, do not see anywhere in the New Testament where we are taught that we must worship God on SATURDAY. Yes, the disciples went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, but this is because they were called to preach the GOSPEL to the JEWS first, and this was WHERE the Jews would be. It just made sense to go to a PLACE where the Jews would be on a DAY that you knew that they would be there. So, just going to the temple or even praying in the temple does not dogmatically teach us without a doubt that the early church KEPT the SABBATH day. Once again let us read Matthew 5:17,18 the way that it SHOULD PROPERLY be understood and should have been translated by the translators in order to agree with the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
Matthew 5:17,18.
“Think not that I am come to UTTERLY DESTROY or to COMPLETELY ABOLISH the WHOLE law, or the prophets: I am not come to UTTERLY DESTROY or to COMPLETELY ABOLISH, but to fulfill. 18. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
This is what the Greek word “KATALYO'” means in the original text. Jesus did not come to destroy UTTERLY as in the COMPLETELY abolish the WHOLE law, but Jesus did come to make some CHANGES in the LAW, or more precisely to FULFILL part of that which was ALREADY WRITTEN in the Old Testament. Please read “THE 119 MINISTRIES ERRORS OF INTERPRETATION Part 2”. Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to read ALL the studies that I gave links to throughout this study concerning this subject on Sabbath TRUTH. My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century. So let us all come into the UNITY of the faith and return to what Jesus and his Apostles taught us in SIMPLICITY in the New Testament.
To learn more TRUTH, then please return to
If you have any questions, please feel free to write to me. My contact email is MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail .com. Some Sabbath-keeping Christians CLAIM that the early church kept the Sabbath as the Jews, but I assure you that the early first-century church was accustomed to gathering together BEFORE the light of daybreak on the FIRST day of the week that THEY called the Lord's day. Please read all the studies linked within this study and all the studies linked below. This study was just the TIP of the iceberg of exposing the ERRORS of interpretation made by the Saturday seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping churches, and the Sunday first day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians. All of the studies listed under the subject heading >>>Dd-0. What is the TRUE Sabbath?<<< And also read Dd-20. Did The Early Church KEEP the Sabbath day to learn the truth of what the early church believed. Thanks again for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God.
Your Brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
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